LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

®^JtItD.a32inp]p^# |n.- 

Shelf ..Xf-ii 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



AN EPITOME 



ENGLISH HISTORY; 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. 



BY y 
S. AGNES KUMMER 

REVISED BY 

A. M. CHANDLEE. 



MULTUM IN PARVO.^y ^^ ;^:/ 

A. S. BARNES & COMPANY, 

NEW YORK AND CHICAGO. 
1883, 



Copyright^ 1883, by A M. Chandlee. 






THE LIBRARY 
or CONGRESS 

WASHINOTOH 



^ PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. 



T 



HIS little manual is offered to Teachers and Students of 
r^ -*" English History, with the hope that it may supply a want 
^ which the compiler has found unmet by any of the existing text- 
books. It is by no means designed to supersede the study of 
more comprehensive class-books of English History, but merely 
to act as a handmaiden to them, by presenting in a condensed 
form the principal dates and facts which, when once fixed in the 
memory, will add greatly to the facility and enjoyment of more 
extended study. 

It was at first designed to limit the use of this little work 
solely to the pupils for whom it has been prepared, but the 
success which has attended its partial application in manuscript 
has induced its publication, in the hope that it may be profitable 
to others who are interested in this noble study. 

Edge WORTH School, 

Baltimore, August 8, 1866. 



PKEFACE TO THE EEVISED EDITIOJST. 



rriHE first edition of the " Epitome of English History " was 
limited to a comparatively small number, and has for 
some time been exhausted. The success which has attended its 
use in Edgeworth School, Baltimore, and other similar institu- 
tions, as well as the favorable testimony of teachers in different 
parts of the country, has induced the publication of a second 
edition. Several corrections have been made, and some new 
matter added to bring the work up to the present time. 

In the hope that this Epitome may aid both teachers and 
scholars in studying the history of our mother country, with 
which we are so closely linked in the civilization of the world, 
and also be a useful little book of reference in many a household 
library, it is sent forth by one who, as pupil and teacher in Edge- 
worth School, was for many years associated with the original 
compiler. 

HOMEWOOD, June 4, 1883. 



AN EPITOME 



OF 



English History. 



BRITAIN TO THE ROMAN INVASION. 
From Date Unknown to 55 B. C. 

THIS is the legendary period of British history. 
Britain was anciently called Albion; it was a 
desolate waste of marsh land and forest, and its inhab- 
itants, whom tradition says were descended from Brutus, 
a Trojan, were barbarians. The Phoenician merchants 
traded with the Britons for tin several centuries before 
the Christian era. Shakspeare's " King Lear " was an 
ancient British monarch of this period. The ancient 
Britons were Celts. 



BRITAIN FROM THE ROMAN TO THE SAXON 

INVASION. 

55 B. C— A. D. 449. 

Invasion of Britain by the Romans under Julius 
Caesar, 55 B. C. Cassivelaunus or Caswallon was the 
leader of the Britons. 54 B. C. second invasion of 



6 AN EPITOME OF 

Caesar who penetrated as far as Venilam, the modern 
St. Albans. 

For ninety-foar years no other invasion was at- 
tempted, and the Britons lived in peaceful communica- 
tion with Rome, but as free as if Caesar had never 
landed. 

The Druids were the priests of the Britons. At 
Stonehenge are the remains of a Druidical temple. 
Human sacrifices were a terrible feature of Druidical 
worship. 

During this period lived Cunobelin, the Cymbeline of 
Shakspeare. 

Mock-invasion of Caligula A. D. 40. Invasion of 
Claudius A. D. 43. The Roman General was Aulus 
Plautius, and Caractacus was the leader of the Britons ; 
capture of Camalodunum, the modern Colchester. 
Vespasian, afterwards Emperor, conquered the Isle of 
Wight, and his son Titus, the future conqueror of 
Jerusalem, fought as a private soldier. 

A. D. 51, Caractacus defeated at Caer-Caradoc in 
Shropshire and sent captive to Rome. A. D. 59, Sue- 
tonius appointed by ISTero took the command in Britain, 
he attacked Anglesey and destroyed the Druids. A. D. 
61, Boadicea, " bleeding from the Roman rods," stirred 
up a revolt, which ended in the defeat and death of the 
" British Warrior Queen." The town of Londinium, 
modern London, was laid in ashes. The Romans were 
now masters of Britain. 

Agricola appointed to the command A. D. 78. He 
marched into Caledonia and raised aline of forts from 
the Clyde to the Forth. 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 7 

A. D. 121, Hadrian built a rampart from the Tyne 
to Solway Firth. This is known in history as the wall 
of Severus, because A. D. 208, Severus repaired and 
perfected it. Severus died at York in 211. 

St. Alban, first Christian martyr of Great Britain, 
was beheaded at Verulam 303. Constantius died at 
York 306, and his son, Constantine the Great, assumed 
the purple at York. The Scots and Picts invaded 
Britain and penetrated to London 367. The Britons 
obtained some assistance from Rome, but it was soon 
withdrawn. A letter was written to ^tius, Governor 
of Gaul, A. D. 448, in which Vortigern, Prince of the 
Britons, entreated the Saxons for aid. Arrival of Hen- 
gist and Horsa A. D. 449. 



ENGLAND FROM THE SAXON INVASION TO THE 
NORMAN CONQUEST 

A. D. 449 — \o66. 

This portion of English history may be divided into 
four periods : 

1st. From the first Saxon invasion to the union of 
the Heptarchy. A. D. 449—827. 

2d. From the union of the Heptarchy to the usur 
pation of the Danes. A. D. 827—1013. 

3d. The Danish usurpation. A. D. 1013—1041. 

4th. From the restoration of the Anglo-Saxons to 
the Norman Conquest. A. D. 1041—1066. 



AN EPITOME OF 



FIRST PERIOD. 



From the First Saxon Invasion to the Union of the Hep- 
tarchy. A. D. 449—827. 

Vortigern married Eowena, the daughter of Hengist. 
A. D. 455, Horsa was slain. A. D. 457, Hengist drove 
the Britons out of Kent, and assumed the kingly power. 
Encouraged by the success of their countrymen, other 
bands of German invaders came over at different inter- 
vals and settled themselves in England. 

About A. D. 520, died the famous Arthur, King of 
Britain. Numerous fabulous stories are told about 
Arthur, his Knights of the Eound Table, and the en- 
chanter Merlin. A. D. 597, St. Augustine, a monk, 
came to Britain, which, under the Saxons, had relapsed 
into heathendom. Augustine converted Ethelbert, 
King of Kent, and many of his subjects. Ethelbert 
had married Bertha, daughter of Caribert, King of the 
Franks. Bertha was a Christian when she came to 
Kent, and worshipped in the church of St. Martin, 
Canterbury. St. Martin's is the oldest church in Eng- 
land, and is generally supposed to have been built by 
the Eomans, A. D. 187. Ethelbert, Bertha, and St. 
Augustine were all buried in St. Martin's. 

St. Paul's Cathedral, London, was founded A. D. 609, 
and Westminster Abbey by Sebert, King of the East 
Saxons, A. D. 616. The University of Cambridge was 
founded A. D. 644. Bede, the historian, usually styled 
"the Venerable Bede," died at the Monastery of Wear- 
mouth A. D. 735. 

A. D. 827, the Saxon kingdoms were united into one 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 9 

monarchy, over which Egbert, King of Wessex, was 
sole ruler. The country was now first called England, 
and Winchester was the capital. The Britons had all 
been driven to Cambria, now Wales, to Cornwall, and 
to Bretagne in France. 

SECOND PERIOD. 

From the Union of the Heptarchy to the Usurpation of the 
Danes. A. D. 827—1013. 

Egbert. A. D. 827—836. 

The Danes invaded England. Egbert was buried at 
Winchester. 

Ethelwulf. 83G— 857. 
Son of Egbert. He married, 

1st. Osberga, daughter of Oslac, his cupbearer. 
2d. Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald of France. 
Ethelwulf and Osberga had five sons, all of whom, 
except the first, wore the English crown ; and one 
daughter, Ethelswytha. 

During this reign the Danes invaded England, sailed 
up the Thames, and burnt the cities of London and 
Canterbury. 

Ethelwulf died at Stambridge m Essex, and wp" 
buried at Steyning in Sussex. 

Ethelbald. 857—860. 
Ethelbert. 860—866. 
Ethelred. 866—871. 

Sons of Ethelwulf and Osberga. Puring these reigns 



10 ' AN EPITOME OF 

the Danes continued their ravages. They martyred 
Edmund, King of East Anglia, and his burial-place 
took the name of Bury St. Edmunds. 

Alfred the Great. 871 — 901. 

Son of Ethelwulf and Osberga. He was born at 
Wantage, died at Farringdon, and was buried at W in- 
chester. He married Elswitha, daughter of Ethelfrid 
of Mercia. 

Alfred had several children ; the best known are : 
Edward the Elder, who succeeded his father ; 
Ethelfleda, the most learned and remarkable 
woman of her time. 

During this reign there was continual warfare with 
the Danes. 878, a great peace was concluded between 
Alfred and Guthrum, the Danish chief. 893, the Danes 
under Hastings again began to commit ravages, but 
Alfred finally restored tranquillity to the country. 

During the reign of Alfred, the University of Oxford 
was founded. England was divided into counties and 
hundreds, and trial by jury established. 

Edward the Elder. 901 — 925. 

Son of Alfred and Elswitha. He re-established the 
University of Cambridge. 

Athelstan. 925 — 941. 

Son of Edward the Elder and Egwina. He died at 
Gloucester, and was buried at Malmsbury. He gained 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 11 

numerous victories over the Danes, and caused the Bible 
to be translated into the Saxon tongue. 

Edmund I. 941—947. 
Edred. 947 — 955. 

Sons of Edward the Elder and Edgifa. 
Edmund was stabbed by Leolf, a robber. 
Edred was ruled by Dunstan, Abbot of Glaston- 
bury. 

Edwy. 955—959. 

Edgar the Peaceable. 959—975. 

Sons of Edmund I. and Elgiva. 

Edwy married Elgiva, his cousin. Dunstan forced 
him to divorce Elgiva, who was put to death with great 
cruelty, and Edwy died of grief. 

Edgar built monasteries, exterminated wolves, and 
increased the navy. He was very arrogant, and at 
Chester his barge on the Dee was rowed by eight vassal 
princes. 

Edward II., the Martyr. 975 — 978. 

Son of Edgar the Peaceable and Ethelfleda. He was 
stabbed at Corfe Castle by order of his step-mother, 
Elfrida. 

Ethelred IL, the Ukready. 978—1013. Died 1016. 

Son of Edgar the Peaceable and Elfrida. He married, 
1st. Elfleda; their son was Edmund ''Ironside." 



12 AN EPITOME OF 

2d. Emma, sister of Richard II., Puke of ISTormandy ; 
their sons were : 

Alfred, who fell into the hands of his enemies and 

was put to death at Ely ; 
Edward, surnamed the Confessor. 
This reign was a series of struggles with the piratical 
Danes. At first the king was weak and injudicious 
enough to buy them off with tribute money, called 
Danegeld. November 13, 1002, Ethelred caused a mas- 
sacre of the Danes, which they revenged by an invasion 
under their king Sweyn. Ethelred fled to Normandy ; 
he subsequently returned to England, but never re- 
covered his authority. 

THIRD PERIOD. 
The Danish Usurpation. A. D. 1013— 1041. 

Sweyn was virtually sovereign of England for one 
year, but before he could be crowned he died at Gains- 
borough . 

Canute the Great. 1014—1036. 
Edmund Ieonside. 1016. 

After many struggles on the part of Edmund Iron- 
side to regain the kingdom, in 1016, Canute and he 
made an agreement to divide it between them. About 
a month afterwards Edmund was murdered at Oxford, 
and Canute became sole monarch of England. 

Edmund Ironside left two sons, who were educated 
in Hungary: 
Edmund. 



ENGLISH HISTORY.^ 13 

Edward '' the Exile," the father of Edgar Atheling, 
and of Margaret, who married Malcolm, King of 
Scotland. 
Canute married, 
1st. Elgiva. Their sons were Sweyn and Harold. 
2d. Emma, the widow of Ethelred the Unready. 
Their son was Hardicanute. 
Canute died at Shaftesbury, and was buried at 
Winchester. He wds a wise prince ; his reproof to his 
courtiers at Southampton is well known. 

Harold, surnamed Harefoot. 1036 — 1040. 

Son of Canute and Elgiva. It was during this reign 
that Alfred, the son of Ethelred and Emma, was mur- 
dered. Harold died at Oxford. 

Hardicanute. 1040 — 1041. 

Son of Canute and Emma. He was wicked and in- 
temperate, and died at Lambeth after a short reign. 

FOURTH PERIOD. 

From the Restoration of the Anglo-Saxons to the Norman 
Conquest. A. D. 1041—8066. 

Edward the Coi^fessor. 1041 — 1066. 

Son of Ethelred and Emma. He married Editha, 
daughter of Earl Godwin, Edw^ard had been educated 
in Normandy; he favored foreigners and thereby in- 
curred the dislike of the English. 



14 ''an epitome of 

The most prominent man of the time was the power- 
ful Earl G-odwin. He and his family were at one time 
banished by the king. Soon after his restoration he 
died, leaving as head of the house his son Harold, who 
wished to be appointed Edward's successor. The king 
had nominated Edward the Exile, but a few days after 
the latter returned to England, he died, and the Con- 
fessor, passing over the true heir, Edgar Atheling, be- 
queathed the crown to William of Normandy. 

Edward built that part of the abbey church at West- 
minster still called, " The Confessor's Chapel." He 
was buried there. 

During this reign the sons of Duncan, King of Scot- 
land, fled to England to seek assistance from Edward. 
Their father had been slain by Macbeth, who had also 
usurped the throne. This story is told by Shakspeare 
in the tragedy of Macbeth. 

Harold II. 1066. 

Harold, the son of Earl Godwin, was crowned king 
by the Archbishop of York. Whilst Harold was in the 
north of England, defeating the Norwegians who had 
landed on the coast, William of Normandy landed at 
Pevensey, in Sussex. The battle of Hastings was 
fought between Harold and William, October 14, 1066. 
William was victorious. Harold was killed, — ^he was 
buried in Waltham Abbey. Two years later the Con- 
queror founded an abbey on the site of the battle-field, 
and called it "Battle Abbey." 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 15 



SAXON LINE OF KINGS. 

Egbebt 827—836 

Ethelwulf. 836—857 



Ethelbald. 

Ethelbert 

Ethelbed 

Alfred the Great J 



sons of Ethelwulf . 



857—860 

860—866 

866—871 

L 871—901 



Edward the Elder, son of Alfred 901—925 

Athelstan 1 ( 925—941 

Edmund I.. \ sons of Edward the Elder ■! 941—947 

Edred ) (947—955 

Edwy.... ) ^„ , (955—959 

^ ^^ \ sons of Edmund I \^^^ ^^^ 

Edgar the Peaceable) (959—975 

Edward the Martyr.. . .) ^ ^ ( 975 — 978 

_ ^^ [ sons of Edgar \ _^ ^ 

Ethelred the Unready) (978—1016 

Edmund Ironside, son of Ethelred the Unready 1016 



THE DANISH LINE. 

Canute the Great 1014—1036 

Harold Harefoot) ^ ^ (1036—1040 

„ ^ sons of Canute i^^,^ .^.. 

Hardicanute ) 1040—1041 



SAXON LINE RESTORED. 

Edward the Confessor, son of Ethelred the 

Unready 1041—1066 

Harold, son of Earl Godwin 1066 

THE NORMAN LINE. 

William the Conqueror. 1066 — 1087. 

Born 1027. Son of Eobert, Duke of Normanciy, sur- 
named " Robert the Magnificent," or more commonly 



IG AN EPITOME OF 

'' Robert le Diable/' and Arlotta, daughter of a tanner 
of Falaise. He was married to Matilda of Flanders, and 
had four sons and six daughters. Those best known in 
history are : 

Robert, ^surnamed Courthose, to whom he left Nor- 
mandy ; 
Richard, who was killed in the New Forest ; 
William Ruf us, King of England ; 
Henry, afterwards Henry I., to whom he left his 

mother's fortune; 
Adela, who married Stephen, Count of Blois, and 
was the mother of Stephen the Usurper. 
William the Conqueror met with the accident which 
caused his death at the burning of the town of Mantes. 
He died at the abbey of St. Gervaise, near Rouen, and 
was buried in the abbey of St. Stephen at Caen. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

The conquest of England 1066. His coronation in 
Westminster Abbey. Edgar Atheling renounced his 
claim to the crown, and received a pension of a mark 
a day. The Saxons, the Normans, and the sons of 
the king rebelled in turn. War with Philip I., King 
of France. Destruction of Mantes and death of the 
Conqueror. 

During this reign the Curfew Bell was instituted — 
the New Forest made — Domesday Book compiled — 
Feudal law introduced — and the Tower built. 

Matilda, wife of the Conqueror, died at Caen, and 
was buried there in the Convent of the Holy Trinity. 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 17 

She has commemorated the achievements of her war- 
like husband in the famous Bayeux tapestry, still pre- 
served in the cathedral of Bayeux. The Channel Isles 
were annexed to England at the conquest. 

William II., surnamed Rufus. 1087—1100. 

Born 1057. Son of William the Conqueror and 
Matilda of Flanders. He was never married. He died 
in the New Forest, and was buried at Winchester. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Invasion of Normandy. Eobert and William united 
against Henry. First Crusade 1096, in which Eobert 
and Edgar Atheling join. Preached by Peter the 
Hermit. 

During this reign Westminster Hall was built. The 
sea overflowed 4000 acres of land, situated opposite 
Deal, and formed what is called Goodwin Sands. 

The New Forest was fatal to three of the descendants 
of the Conqueror — his sons Richard and William, and 
his grandson Richard, son of Robert Courthose. 

Henry I., surnamed Beauclbec. 1100 — 1135. 

Born at Selby in Yorkshire, 1070. Son of William 
the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. He was mar- 
ried, 

1st, to Matilda of Scotland, niece of Edgar Athel- 
ing ; 
2d, to Adelicia of Louvain. 



18 AN EPITOME OF 

Henry I, and Matilda of Scotland had two children : 
William, who was drowned crossing the Channel 

from Normandy ; 
Matilda, called ^^the Empress Maude/' who mar- 
ried first, Henry V., Emperor of Germany, and 
afterwards Geoffrey Plahtagenet, Count of Anjou. 
Henry died at St. Denis, in Normandy. His hody 
was taken to England and interred in the Abbey of St 
Mary at Eeading. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

War with his brother Robert, Duke of Normandy. 
Capture of Robert, who was imprisoned for twenty-eight 
weary years at Cardiff Castle. It is said that he was 
also deprived of sight. Shipwreck of the "White 
Ship," and loss of Prince William. The king was so 
much affected by the death of his son, that " he never 
smiled again." 

During this reign the order of " Knights Templars " 
was instituted. Woollen manufacture was introduced 
by some Flemings, who settled in Pembrokeshire, 
Wales. 

Stephen of Blois. 1135 — 1154. 

Born 1105. Son of Stephen, Count of Blois, and 
Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror. He was 
married to Matilda of Boulogne. All their children, 
except a daughter who took the veil, died young. The 
eldest, Prince Eustace, had been proclaimed heir to the 
throne of England. 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 19 

Stephen died at Dover, and was buried in the Abbey 
of Feversham. His queen, Matilda, was a noble woman. 
The beautiful legend on her tomb is, " If ever woman 
deserved to be carried by angel hands to heaven it was 
this holy queen." She was buried in the Abbey of 
Feversham. 

Principal Events of Ms Reign. 

Wars with Matilda, daughter of Henry I., who by 
right of birth should have had the crown. Matilda 
was aided by the Earl of Gloucester. David, King of 
Scotland, invaded the north of England in defence of 
his niece's title, and fought the battle of Northallerton 
or the Standard. The Scots were defeated. After 
many years of civil war, most disastrous to the king- 
dom, Stephen and Matilda made a compromise, by 
which Stephen was to reign during his lifetime, and 
the crown to descend to the son of Matilda. Second 
Crusade 1147, preached by St. Bernard, abbot of Clair- 
vaux. 

During this reign lived William of Malmesbury, 
Geoffrey of Monmouth, and Henry of Huntingdon, 
historians. 



20 AN EPITOME OF 

NORMAN LINE OF KINGS. 

William the Conqueror 1066—1087. 

William II,, surnamed Rufus 1087 — 1100. 

Henry I., surnamed Beauclerc 1100—1135. 

Stephen of Blois 1135—1154. 

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET. 

Hekry IL, surnamed Plantagek"et. 1154 — 1189. 

Born 1133. Son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of 
Anjou, and Matilda, daughter of Henry I. In him the 
Saxon line was restored. He married Eleanor of 
Guienne or Aquitaine, the divorced wife of Louis YII. 
of France. They had seven children : 
William, who died in childhood ; 
Henry, who married Marguerite of France, and 

died before his father ; 
Eichard, surnamed Coeur de Lion ; 
Geoffrey, who married Constance of Bretagne, and 
was the father of Arthur and the Damsel of 
Bretagne ; 
John, surnamed Lackland; 

Maud, married to Henry the Lion, Duke of Savony ; 
Joan, married to William, King of Sicily. 
Henry died of a broken heart at the Castle of Chinon, 
near Saumur in Anjou, and was buried in the Abbey 
of Fontevrault. 

Principal Events of Ms Reign. 

Disputes with the clergy. Thomas a Becket, son of 
Gilbert a Becket, a merchant of London, wlio had been 



hjyglise: history. 21 

a Crusader, and of a Saracen lady, was created Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury. Becket, when eleyated to this 
high station, changed his demeanor and sided against 
the king. Henry was much irritated by tlie conduct 
of Becket, and in an unguarded moment exclaimed, 
" Is there nobody to deliver me from this turbulent 
priest?" Four gentlemen of the king's household 
immediately set out for Canterbury and murdered 
Becket in the cathedral, before the altar of St. Benedict, 
29th December, 1170. Becket was canonized, and pil- 
grimages were made to his shrine. King Henry was 
obliged to do public penance at his tomb. Conquest of 
Ireland 1171. Dermot, King of Leinster, asked assist- 
ance from Henry to restore him to his sovereignty, from 
which he had been driven ; he enlisted in his cause the 
Earl of Pembroke, surnamed Strongbow. The latter 
married Eva, the daughter of Dermot, and upon the 
death of Dermot claimed the crown in right of his wife. 
Henry obhged Strongbow to resign his pretensions, and 
the whole kingdom of Ireland submitted without a 
blow. Queen Eleanor encouraged her sons to rebel 
against their father. Henry, the eldest, died before 
his father. Geoffrey was killed in a tournament at 
Paris. After the death of his brothers, Ei chard per- 
suaded John to join a rebellion against their father. 
The disaffection of this favorite son, John, caused the 
king so much grief that it resulted in his death. 

During this reign the kingdom was divided into cir- 
cuits. The distinction between Saxons and Normans 
began to disappear. Glass windows first used in private 
houses. Nicholas Breakspeare, the only Englishnian 



22 AH EPITOME OF 

who ever wore the tiara, was chosen Pope in 1154, and 
took the title of Adrain TV, London now became the 
capital. 

EiCHAED L, surnamed Cceue de Lioiir. 1189 — 1199. 

Born at Oxford, 1157. Son of Henry II. and Eleanor 
of Guienne. He was married to Berengaria, daughter 
of the king of Navarre, and had no children. Eichard 
died while besieging the castle of Chains in Aquitaine, 
and was buried in the Abbey of Fontevrault. 

Eichard has been installed in romance as the great 
hero of chilvalry, but although Sir Walter Scott has 
said that his name is "so dear to Englishmen," and we 
have been used to identify him with the "Black- 
Knight" of "Ivanhoe," and the "lion-heart" of "The 
Talisman," it must not be forgotten that he was a re- 
bellious and undutiful son. His expedients to raise 
money were very questionable, and, though brave and 
frank, he was haughty and avaricious. During his 
reign of ten years he passed but few months in Eng- 
land, and he was never known to speak English but 
once. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Third Crusade. Sojourn in Sicily. Capture of the 
Island of Cyprus. Capture of Acre. Battle of Joppa, in 
which the Christians were victorious. Truce with Saladin 
for three years, three months, three days, and three 
hours. Eeturn of the king. His capture, imprison- 
ment, and release. Tradition says that the place of his 
captivity was discovered by Blondel, a faithful minstrel. 

Siege of the castle of Chains, near Limoges. 



ENGLISH HISTOHY. 23 

During this reign lived the celebrated outlaw, Robin 
Hood. He is the Saxon yeoman Locksley, of Ivanhoe, 
and was the leader of a band of outlaws, amongst whom 
were Friar Tuck and Little John ; they lived in Sher- 
wood Forest. 

John", surnamed Lackland. 1199 — 1216. 

Born 1166. Son of Henry II. and Eleanor of 
Guienne. He was married to Isabella of Angouleme, 
and had five children. Those best known in history 
are: 

Henry, who succeeded him ; 
Jane, married to Alexander, King of Scotland ; 
Eleanor, married, first, to the Earl of Pembroke, 
secondly, to the Earl of Leicester. 
He died in the castle of Newark, and was buried in 
Worcester Cathedral. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Murder of his nephew, Arthur of Bretagne, son of 
Geoffrey, and rightful heir to the throne. Quarrel with 
the Pope, Innocent III. The barons compelled John 
to sign Magna Oharta at Runnymede, near Windsor, 
15th June, 1215. John enlisted foreign soldiers and 
tried to recall all the liberties he had granted. The 
barons invited Louis, eldest son of the King of France, 
to their aid, promising to reward him with the crown. 
Death of the king. 

Magna Oharta is still preserved in the British Mu- 
seum. Arthur of Bretagne was supposed to have been 
murdered at the Castle of Rouen, and his sister, the 



24 Ay EPITOME OF 

Damsel of Bretagne, was imprisoned in Bristol Castle, 
where she died. John lost his French provinces, hence 
his surname. 

HeNEY III. OF WiNCHESTEE. 1216 — 1272. 

Born 1207. Son of John and Isabella of Angoul^me. 
He was married to Eleanor of Provence, and had four 
children. The best known in history are : 
Edward, who succeeded him ; 
Edmund, titular King of Sicily ; 
Margaret, married Alexander III. of Scotland. 
Henry died at Westminster, and was buried in West- 
minster Abbey. 

Principal Events of Ms Reign. 

Earl of Pembroke appointed Protector of the realm. 
The French army defeated at Lincoln, 1217. Death of 
the Earl of Pembroke. The Pope gave Prince Edmund 
the title of King of Sicily. Great extortion of the Pope 
and Henry to defray the expenses of this empty honor. 
The barons, headed by Simon de Montfort, Earl of 
Leicester, refused to submit to the exactions of the 
king. The "mad parliament" assembled at Oxford. 
Louis IX. of France attempted to act as mediator, but 
he was unsuccessful. The king and Edward taken 
prisoners at Lewes, 1264. Edward's escape, 1265. Bat- 
tle of Evesham, in which the party of the king was 
victorious. The earl of Leicester and his son were 
slain. 1270, Prince Edward set out on a crusade, the 
seventh and last 



ENGLISH IIISTOEY. 25 

This was the longest reign in English history, with 
the exception of that of George III. During this reign 
and that of Edward I. lived Roger Bacon, a monk, who 
dwelt at Oxford, and was the first experimental philos- 
opher in England. He is said to have invented gun- 
powder, telescopes, reading glasses, and various other 
things both useful and curious. He was looked upon 
as a magician. 

The first parliament met in 1265. 

Edward L, surnamed Lojtgshanks. 1272—1307. 

Born A. D. 1239. Son of Henry HI. and Eleanor of 
Provence. He was twice married : 

1st. To Eleanor of Castile, by whom he had fifteen 

children ; 
2d. To Marguerite of France, by whom he had two 
sons and a daughter. 
He died at Burgh-on-the-Sands, near Carlisle; his 
heart was taken to the Holy Land, and his body was 
buried in Westminster Abbey. His tomb bears this 
inscription: 

"Here lies the Hammer of the Scottish Nation." 

His queen, Eleanor of Castile, surnamed " The Faith- 
fal," was a lovely woman. She accompanied Edward 
to the Holy Land, and it is said that she saved his life 
by sucking the poison from his arm, which had been 
wounded by a Saracen assassin. Whether this touch- 
ing legend be strictly true or not, it is certain that 
Edward always attributed his recovei'y to Eleanor's 



2C) AN EFITOMJ^J OF 

devoted care and attention. Queen Eleanor died 1290, 
near Grantham, in Lincolnshire. The king followed 
her corpse in person during thirteen days. At each 
resting place Edward erected a magnificent cross. Those 
at Waltham and Northampton still remain. In London 
the body rested on the spot now occupied by the statue 
of Charles I., and a cross was built in memory of Ed- 
ward's chere reine, hence Charing Cross, "dear Queen's 
Cross."' At this time (1866), that monument is being- 
restored near the same spot, and is called Hungerford 
Cross. 

PrincijMl Events of his Reign. 

War with Wales. 1282, Llewellyn, the Welsh prince, 
was killed in a skirmish at Builth, on the Wye. His 
head, crowned with ivy, was placed on the gate of the 
Tower of London. 1283, Conquest of Wales, David, 
brother of Llewellyn, was executed. 1284, Edward, son 
of the king, was born at Caernarvon, and declared 
Prince of Wales, and since then the eldest sons of the 
English sovereigns have always borne that title. 1290, 
the Jews banished from England, and they were not 
permitted to return until the time of the Common- 
wealth. 

War with Scotland. The "Maid of Norway," grand- 
child of Alexander IIL of Scotland, and of Margaret, 
daughter of Henry III. of England, betrothed to Ed-" 
ward of Caernarvon, died at the Orkney Islands on hei* 
way to Scotland. There was no direct heir to the 
tlirone of Scotland ; thirteen claimants appeared, but 



ENGLISH HISTOIiY. 27 

only three of them had any real grounds for their de- 
mands. The decision was referred to Edward L, who 
pronounced in favor of John Balliol. 1292, Kobert 
Bruce disputed the succession. The Scots, headed by 
Sir William Wallace, were defeated at Ealkirk, 1298. 

Wallace was executed at Smithfield, London, 23d 
August, 1305. Robert Bruce, grandson of the Eobert 
Bruce who had disputed the crown with Balhol, slew 
the Red Oomyn in the church of the Minorites, at 
Dumfries. Edward immediately took up arms to re- 
venge the murder. Bruce was crowned King of Scot- 
land, at Scone, March 29, 1306. The English king 
made all haste to reach Scotland, but died near Carlisle, 
July 7, 1307. 

Edward, some years previous, had made an unsuc- 
cessful attempt to recover Guienne. His improvement 
of the laws has given him the title of ^^the English 
Justinian.''^ 

There is a tradition that after the conquest of Wales, 
Edward caused the massacre of the Welsh bards. 
This is commemorated in Gray's noble ode, "The 
Bard." During the war with Scotland, Edward removed 
to London the great stone, "the stone of destiny," on 
which the Scottish kings had been crowned from time 
immemorial. This relic is still preserved in Westmin- 
ster Abbey, and is fixed to the bottom of Edward the 
Confessor's chair, the coronation chair, by clamps of 
iron. It is nothing more than a piece of reddish-gray 
sandstone, squared and smoothed. 

Sir William Wallace, the "Knight of Ellershe," is to 



2S ~ AN EPITOME OF 

the Scottish people what Tell is to the Swiss, and 
Washington to the Americans. He is supposed to have 
been betrayed to the English by Sir John Menteith. 
He was tried in Westminster Hall. After his death his 
head was placed on London Bridge, and his body was 
quartered and sent to [N'ewcastle, Berwick, Perth, and 
Aberdeen. Robert Bruce was crowned by Isabella, 
Countess of Buchan, as her brother, the Earl of Eife, 
whose duty it was to have placed the crown on the 
king's head, refused his attendance. King Edward 
before his death made his son promise that his body 
should be boiled in a large caldron until the flesh 
separated from the bones, and that these bones, wrapped 
in a bull's hide, should be carried at the head of the 
English army whenever the Scots rebelled. This prom- 
ise was not fulfilled. 

Edward II., surnamed Caerkaevo]^. 1307 — 1327. 

Born A. D. 1284. Son of Edward I. and Eleanor of 
Castile. He was married to Isabella the Fair, of 
France, and had four children. The two best known 
are: 

Edward, who succeeded him; 
Jane, married to David II. of Scotland. 
He was murdered at Berkeley Castle with great 
cruelty. The Severn re-echoed, 

** The shrieks of death, through Berkeley's roof that ring. 
Shrieks of an agonizing king." 

The body of this unhappy monarch was buried in 
Gloucester Cathedral. His Queen Isabella, "she- wolf 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 29 

of France/' was a woman of an odious character. She 
■ was imprisoned in Castle Kising for some years before 
her death. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Edward disregarded the promise made to his father 
to continue the war with Scotland. Eecalled Piers 
Gaveston, and showed him so many favors that it 
caused great disaffection amongst the barons. Gaves- 
ton was taken prisoner by the Earl of Pembroke, and 
executed on Blacklow-hill, near Warwick Castle. War 
with Scotland renewed. Battle of Bannockburn, June 
24, 1314, — the Scots were completely victorious. Hugh 
de Spenser succeeded Gaveston in the favor of the 
king. The nobles banded themselves against the 
De Spensers (father and son), and a period of bloody 
contentions between the king and the barons ensued. 
1322, the Earl of Lancaster was beheaded. The queen 
contrived to go to France with the Prince of Wales, 
and then openly sided with the barons against the king. 
Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, headed the faction 
against Edward, — he became the favorite of Isabella. 
1326, the queen and her party openly took up arms 
against the king. Edward was taken prisoner and con- 
ducted to Kenilworth Castle, where he was compelled 
to sign a formal abdication of the crown in favor of his 
son Edward, Prince of Wales. After his deposition 
the king was very cruelly treated, and on the 21st of 
September, 1327, by the command of the queen and 
Mortimer, he was murdered in Berkeley Castle. 



30 AN EPITOME OF 

During this reign, 1312, the order of Knights Tem- 
plars was suppressed. Their property in London was 
given by Edward II. to the Earl of Pembroke ; at his 
death it passed to the Knights of St. John of Jerusa- 
lem, and afterwards to the Crown. In the reign of 
Edward III. it was leased by the students of law, and 
has been occupied by them ever since. James I. con- 
ferred the property upon them. The Temple Church 
is one of the most interesting monuments of London. 
It was built in 1183, after the model of the Church of 
the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. It contains many 
ancient monuments of the Templars. 

Edwaed IIL of Wikdsor. 1327—1377. 

Born 1312. Son of Edward 11. and Isabella the Fair 
of France. He was married to Philippa of Hainault, 
and had twelve children, seven sons and five daughters. 
Two sons died in infancy, the others were : 

1st. Edward, the Black Prince, married to Joanna 

of Kent, w^idow of Sir Thomas Holland. 
The Black Prince died near London, and was 

buried in Canterbury Cathedral. 
2d. Lionel, Duke of Clarence, who died, leaving 
an only daughter, Philippa, married to Edmund 
Mortimer, Earl of March. The son of the latter, 
Koger, Earl of March, was the true heir to the 
throne of England on the death of Eichard II., 
but, owing to his youth, his claims were disre- 
garded, and they were transmitted to his daugh- 
ter Anne, who married Edmund, son of the 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 31 

Diike of York. Their son Eichard, Duke of 
York, asserted his claims to the throne, and 
though he was killed, they were recognized in 
the person of his son, afterwards Edward IV. 
3d. John of Gaunt, "time-honored Lancaster," 
married, 

1st Blanche of Lancaster; 
2d. Oonstantia of Castile ; 
3d. Katherine Swynford, whose son, John 
Beaufort, was the great-grandfather of 
Henry VII. 
4th. Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, great- 
grandfather of Edward IV. 
5th. Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester. 
Edward III. died at Shene, and was buried in West- 
minster Abbey, Piiilippa was a worthy consort for the 
"Lion of England." She is buried at the feet of her 
husband in Westminster Abbey. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

An ineffectual attempt to subjugate Scotland during 
the minority of the king. The king asserted his power 
by the execution of Mortimer and the imprisonment of 
the queen. War with Scotland and France. Edward 
asserted his claim to the throne of France through his 
mother Isabella, in defiance of the Salique law. The 
French defeated in the naval battle of Sluys, 1340. 
The next two years Edward employed in trying to re- 
plenish his exhausted treasury, and in attending to the 
affairs of his kingdom. 1342, EdAvard espoused the 



32 AN EPITOME OF 

cause of Jane, Countess of Montfort, the most extra- 
ordinary woman of her age, whose husband claimed the 
succession to the dukedom of Brittany. 1346, Edward 
made a formidable invasion of France. Battle of 
Orecy, 26th of August, 1346 ; the Black Prince " won 
his spurs" in this battle, and the blind king of Bo- 
hemia was killed. After the battle of Orecy followed 
the siege of Calais, which lasted eleyen months. Octo- 
ber 17, 1346, Philippa won the battle of Neville's Cross, 
near Durham, in which David, King of Scotland, was 
taken prisoner. The lives of six noble citizens of Calais 
were spared at the instance of Queen Philippa. A 
grievous pestilence prevented the immediate prose- 
cution of the French war. September 19, 1356, was 
fought the battle of Poitiers, in which the English were 
completely victorious. King John of France was taken 
prisoner to London. John was subsequently restored 
to liberty, but in default of the payment of his ransom 
he returned to London, and died at the palace of Savoy 
in the Strand. In 1367 the Black Prince marched into 
Castile to assist Pedro the Cruel. The Spanish cam- 
paign and its consequences were very unfortunate to 
the English. In 1376 died the Black Prince, Edward 
died in 1377, abandoned by his children, and almost 
alone. 

" Mighty victor, mighty lord, 

Low on his funeral couch he lies ! 
No pitying heart, no eye, aflFord 
A tear to grace his obsequies." 

At this period '^feudalism " was nearly at an end, but 
the "poetry of feudalism" existed in the order of 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 33 

*^ chivalry." England was yery prosperous. The king 
encouraged the development of trade and commerce. 
Coals were first taken from Newcastle to London. 
Queen Philippa established the cloth manufacture at 
Norwich. Froissart, author of the Chronicles, was the 
queen's secretary; and Geoffrey Chaucer, the "father 
of English poetry," called by Spenser, 

*' Well of English imdefyled," 

and author of The Canterbury Tales, was her protege. 
Edward showed a warm friendship for Jacob Van 
Arte veldt, commonly styled "the Brewer of Ghent," 
and it was at his suggestion that the king assumed the 
royal coat of arms of France. The palace of Windsor 
was built under the direction of William of Wykeham. 
Over the great gate is the well known inscription, 

" This made Wykeham." 

Wykeham founded Winchester School, and was made 
Bisho|) of Winchester, aud afterivards Lord Chancellor 
of England. He took for his motto, 

'* Manners makyth Men." 

During this reign and the next also lived John Wycliffe, 
"the Morning Star of the Reformation ;" he was pro- 
tected by John of Gaunt. Wycliffe translated the 
Scriptures into English ; his proselytes were called 
Lollards. 

In 1344, the Order of the Knights of the Garter was 
instituted. The badge of the Order is a dark blue rib- 
bon, with the motto, "Honi soit qui mal y pense," 



34 AN EPIT03IE OF 

(Evil to him who evil thinks). This Order is the most 
honorable of any in the world; it consists of twenty-five 
members, not counting the Sovereign of England, who 
is head of the Order, princes of the blood, and foreign 
potentates who are sometimes invested with it as a very 
high honor. The crest of the King of Bohemia, slain 
at Orecy, was three ostrich feathers, and his motto, 
"Ich dien" (I serve) ; they were adopted by Edward 
the Black Prince, and have ever since been worn as the 
arms of the Princes of Wales. 

^ It is said that " bombards," a sort of cannon, were 
first used by the English at the battle of Crecy. About 
this period oil-painting was invented by John Van 
Eyck, a native of Holland. Queen PhiUippa founded 
Queen's College at Oxford, and the Hospital of the 
Nuns of St. Catherine by the Tower. 

KiCHARD n. OF Bordeaux. 1377—1399. 

Born 1367. Son of Edward the Black Prince, and 
Joanna of Kent. He married, 

1st. Anne of Bohemia, surnamed the Good : 

2d. Isabella of Valois ; 
and left no children. He was murdered at Pontefract 
Castle, and buried first at King's Langley, and after- 
wards in Westminster Abbey. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 



1381, insurrection headed by Wat Tyler. Eichard's 
conduct was bold and energetic. Wat Tyler was killed 
at Smithfield, and the insurgents immediately submitted 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 35 

to the king. 1388, battle of Otterboiirne sung in the 
old ballad of Chevy Chase; — young Percy, surnamed 
Hotspur, was taken prisoner, and Douglas slain. 1397, 
the Duke of Gloucester, 'uncle of the king, was accused 
of high treason, and summoned to be tried by Parlia- 
ment at Westminster, — before the day appointed it was 
said that Gloucester had died in prison, but it was sus- 
pected that he had been murdered by the king's orders. 
1398, quarrel between Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of 
Hereford, and Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk; 
the king banished them the kingdom. 1399, John of 
Gaunt died, and Richard seized on his estates. Boling- 
broke returned to claim his rights whilst Richard was 
in Ireland ; be was joined by a great number of noble- 
men and followers, and soon made use of his advan- 
tages to seize upon the crown. Richard was taken 
prisoner in Flint Castle, he was conveyed to the Tower, 
where he resigned the crown in favor of *^ my cousin, 
Henry of Lancaster." He was afterwards formally 
deposed by a vote of Parliament assembled in Westmin- 
ster Hall, and removed to Pontefract Castle, where he 
was murdered or starved to death. 

Shakspeare has illustrated this reign in one of his ten 
" Chronicle Plays " Isabella, the youthful Queen of 
Richard, returned to France, where she afterwards 
married her cousin, Duke of Orleans. 

Heistry IV., surnamed Bolikgbroke. 1399 — 1413. 

Born 1367. Son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of 
Lancaster. He was married, 



36 AN EPITOME OF 

1st. To Mary de Bohun, daughter of the Earl of 
Hereford, by whom he had four sons and two 
daughters. 
His sons were, 

Henry, who succeeded him ; 

Thomas, Duke of Clarence, who died before 

Henry V. ; 
John, Duke of Bedford ; 
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, called "the 
good Duke Humphrey ; " 
2d. He married Joanna of Navarre, who had no 
children. 
Henry died in "the Jerusalem Chamber" in West- 
minster Abbey, and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral. 

Principal Events of Ms Reign. 

Proclaimed king in Westminster Hall, when he 
uttered his famous challenge to the realm of England 
that he, Henry of Lancaster, was the rightful heir. 
The claims of Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, a 
child of seven years old, descended from Lionel, second 
son of Edward III., were entirely disregarded. The 
king soon realized the truth of the words put into his 
mouth by Shakspeare, 

" Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." 

The Welsh made an effort to place^the Earl of March 
on the throne, — many of the nobles rebelled against " 
Henry's authority, — the Lollards were persecuted, — 
Owen Glendower, a Welsh gentleman, was a formidable 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 37 

foe to Henry. 14fch September, 1402, battle of Homil- 
don-hill, the Scots, under Douglas, were defeated by 
the Earl of Northumberland and Ms son Henry Percy, 
surnamed Harry Hotspur. The Earl of Northumber- 
land, Glendower, and Douglas entered into an alliance 
against Henry IV. The battle of Shrewsbury was 
fought July 33, 1403, in which the king was victorious. 
Henry, Prince of Wales, signalized himself gallantly in 
this battle. Northumberland was pardoned, but two 
years later again rebelled; he was joined by Eichard 
Scroop, Archbishop of York, who was seized, tried, 
condemned and executed. He was the first English 
archbishop who perished by the hands of an execu- 
tioner. 

Henry's last days were embittered by the conduct of 
his son Henry, Prince of Wales, who spent his time 
with riotous and dissolute companions. Chief Justice 
Gascoigne on one occasion sent '^madcap Harry" to 
prison for contempt of court; Henry said, when he 
heard it, ^^ Happy the monarch who possesses a judge 
so resolute in the discharge of his duty, and a son so 
willing to submit to the laws ! " 1405, James of Scot- 
land was taken prisoner while on his way to France, 
and was not released until 1423. Henry was seized 
with apoplexy in the chapel of Edward the Confessor, 
and was removed to the Jerusalem Chamber. It had 
been predicted that he should die in Jerusalem, so 
when told where he was he received it as his death-knell. 
He died March 20, 1413. 

The career of Prince Hal has been portrayed by 



38 AN EPITOME OF 

Shakspeare in his matchless plays. Sir John Falsfcaif 
was one of the j oiliest of his gay companions. The 
story goes that the Prince of Wales tried on the crown 
before his father's death, and that when Henry asked 
him by what right he could wear it, the prince replied : 
" With the sword you won it, and with the sword I will 
keep it. " 

Heitry V. OF MoKMOUTH. 1413 — 1422. 

Born 1388. Son of Henry IV. and Mary de Bohun. 
He was married to Katherine of Valois, and had one 
son ; 

Henry, who succeeded him. 

He died at Vincennes, near Paris, and was buried in 
Westminster Abbey. 

His widow Katherine secretly married Owen Tudor, 
a Welsh gentleman. Their eldest son Edmund, married 
to Margaret Beaufort, great-granddaughter of John of 
Gaunt, was the father of Henry, Duke of Eichmond, 
afterwards Henry VH. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Henry began his reign by manifesting a generous and 
prudent policy ; he released the young Earl of March, 
the true heir to the throne ; he restored the Percys to 
their estates and honors ; he had the body of Eichard 
II. removed from Langley and interred at Westminster, 
by the side of his queen, ^' the good Queen Anne ; " and 
he gave up his gay companions and applied himself 
diligently to the affairs of his kingdom. The Lollards, 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 39 

or WyclifFites, suffered a cruel persecution. Four years 
later, 1418, Lord Oobham was burned in St. Giles' 
Fields. 1415, Henry determined to invade France ; 
previous to his departure he discovered a conspiracy 
headed by the Earl of Cambridge, Lord Scroop, and Sir 
Thomas Grey, who were tried, condemned, and exe- 
cuted. Henry landed near Harfleur, August 14, 1415. 
Charles VI. of France was insane, and the kingdom 
was distracted by internal factions. Harfleur yielded 
after a siege of thirty-six days. October 25, 1415, bat- 
tle of Azincour (Agincourt), in which the French were 
entirely defeated. This was one of the most glorious 
victories ever gained by an English army, but it was 
attended by a fearful sacrifice of human life. After 
this battle hostilities were interrupted for two years. 
August 1, 1417, Henry again landed in France. Janu- 
ary, 1419, Eouen was captured after a protracted siege. 
1420, a treaty was concluded at Troyes, the principal 
articles of which were that Henry should marry Kath- 
erine, daughter of the French king; that Charles 
should, during his lifetime, enjoy the title and dignity 
of King of France under the regency of Henry ; and 
that the latter should succeed to the throne upon the 
death of Charles, to the exclusion of the Dauphin. 
1422, Henry died at the Castle of Vincennes, in the 
Bois de Vincennes, near Paris ; his body w^as conducted 
with great pomp to London, and interred in Westmin- 
ster Abbey. 

During this reign each citizen of London w^as ordered 
to hang a lantern outside of his door at night, from 



40 AN EPITOME OF 

whence arose the custom of lighting the streets. At 
this time lived Sir Eichard Whittington, '^ thrice Lord 
Major of London." 

Hekey VL of Windsor. 1422—1461. 

Born 1421. Son of Henry V. and Katharine of 
Valois. He was married to Margaret of Anjou, and 
had one son, Edward of Lancaster, who was married 
to Anne, daughter of the Earl of Warwick, and was 
cruelly slain after the battle of Tewkesbury. Henry 
was murdered in the Tower, in 1471, and was buried in 
Chertsey Abbey. His remains were subsequently re- 
moved to St. G-eorge's Chapel, Windsor. Henry was a 
feeble monarch but a good man. It was his misfortune 
to live in an age of violence, yet to be possessed of a 
saintly and gentle spirit. Gray calls him the " meek 
usurper." His queen, Margaret of Anjou, was the very 
reverse of her husband, and she endeavored to supply 
by her energy and force of character the feebleness of 
Henry's rule. She is generally portrayed in hideous 
colors, as unfeminine, cruel and revengeful, but much 
allowance must be made for the peculiarity of her posi- 
tion in connection with her resolute and indomitable 
spirit. After the total defeat of the Lancastrians, Mar- 
garet was imprisoned in England for five years; she was 
then liberated, and retired to the home of her father in 
France. She died at the chateau of Damprierre, and 
was buried in the Cathedral of Angers. In the breviary 
of Margaret tliere is one sentence supposed to have been 
written by herself: 

" Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 41 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

The Duke of Bedford was appointed Eegent of France 
and Protector of England, and the Duke of Gloucester 
was to hold the latter office during the absence of the 
Dnke of Bedford in France. 1423, James I. of Scotland 
was set at liberty after eighteen years captivity; he 
married Jane Beaufort, daughter of the Duke of Somer- 
set. Charles VI. of France died two months after the 
death of Henry V. The Dauphin, Charles VIL of 
France, asserted his right to the crown, but his pros- 
pect of success seemed to grow weaker and weaker. 

1428, siege of Orleans, under the Earl of Salisbury, 
who, bein^ killed, was succeeded by the Earl of Suffolk. 

1429, the siege of Orleans was raised by Joan of Arc 
(Jeanne d'Arc), who believed that she was divinely 
commissioned to restore the fallen fortunes of France. 
Through her efforts Charles was crowned at Eheims. 

1430, the siege of Compiegne, Joan of Arc was taken 
prisoner, tried for witchcraft, and, to the lasting dis- 
grace of the Duke of Bedford, was burnt at the stake 
in Kouen in May, 1431. Charles VIL, who owed her 
his kingdom, made no effort to save her. The Duke 
of Bedford died in 1435. The English power in France 
declined until at last they had nothing left them but 
Calais. 1445, Henry married Margaret of Anjou, and 
instead of receiving a dowry with her, he was obliged 
to surrender Anjou and Maine. 1447, the Duke of 
Gloucester was impeached and arrested at Bury St. 
Edmunds ; he was found dead in his bed, and is sup- 
posed to have been murdered. 1450, the Duke of Suf- 



42 AN EPIT03IE OF 

folk was accused of high treason, — he was banished, 
intercepted on his passage to France, and murdered. 
The same year an insurrection, headed by Jack Cade, 
broke out in Kent. Cade called himself Mortimer, 
entered London, and as he passed London Stone, struck 
it with his sword and said : " Now, is Mortimer lord of 
this city." The insurgents were soon quelled, and Cade 
was killed. 1452, the Duke of York took up arms. 
The civil wars which ensued between the Houses of 
York and Lancaster are called the " Wars of the Eoses," 
— the Yorkists wore a white rose, the Lancastrians a 
red one. 1454, Prince Edward was born, and the Duke 
of York had no longer any hopes of securing the crown 
peaceably. May, 1455, battle of St. Albans ; ,,the York- 
ists were victorious, and the king fell into the hands of 
the Duke of York. For several years there were no 
open hostilities, and the king was restored to the sov- 
ereign authority. July 10, 1460, battle of Northamp- 
ton. Henry was defeated and taken prisoner, and the 
queen escaped northwards. Parliament assembled, and 
decided that Henry should continue to reign during 
his lifetime, but that the Duke of York and his heirs 
should succeed after Henry's death. December, 1460, 
battle of Wakefield ; the Lancastrians, headed by Mar- 
garet, were victorious ; the Duke of York and his son, 
the Earl of Eutland, were slain. The Duke of York's 
head was cut off by Margaret's orders, and, encircled 
with a paper crown, was fixed upon the gates of York : 
'' So York may overlook the town of York." 

Margaret set out for London, and was met at St. 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 43 

Albans by the Earl of Warwick with a party of York- 
ists — this second battle of St. Albans was favorable to 
the Lancastrians. Edward, the young Duke of York, 
entered London, March 3, 1461, and was proclaimed 
king by the people. Henry VL lived ten years longer, 
but here ends his reign. 

JoAiq" OF Arc, called the Maid of Orleans, was dis- 
tinguished for her patriotism, heroism, and piety. Two 
great modern poets have celebrated her memory, South ey 
and Schiller, and "Joan of Arc is a heroine to English- 
men no less than to Frenchmen." Perhaps the most 
beauti:^ul tribute to her memory is the statue in the 
gallery of Versailles, executed by the Princess Marie 
d'Orleans, daughter of the late king, Louis Philippe. 

London Stone is of great antiquity, and is supposed 
to have been of Eoman origin. Tradition says that it 
was in Temple Gardens that the Roses were chosen as 
badges of the Yorkists and Lancastrians, the Duke of 
Somerset plucked a red rose and the Earl of Warwick 
a white one. Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, was 
the most powerful baron in England. He is called the 
King-maker, because he was able to make and unmake 
kings; and "the last of the barons," because he was 
the last who exercised such a controlling influence in 
the kingdom, and who maintained it with so great 
state. The badge of Warwick was "^^the Bear and the 
Ragged Staff." Shakspeare puts in his mouth these 
lines : 

"Now, by my father's badge, old Neville's crest, 
The rampant bear chain'd to the ragg-ed staff." 



44 AN EPITOME OF 

King Henry founded King's College, Cambridge, and 
Eton College, near Windsor, 

" Where grateful Science still adores 
Her Henry's holy shade." 

Margaret of Anjou founded Queen's College, Cam- 
bridge. The Duke of York left three sons : 

Edward, who became king under the title of Ed- 
ward IV. ; 
George,, Duke of Clarence, who married Isabella, 

eldest daughter of the Earl of Warwick ; 
Eichard, Duke of Gloucester, who afterwards be- 
came Ei chard III. 

Edwakd IV. OF YoEK. 1461—1483. 

Born 1443. Son of Eichard, Duke of York, and 
Cecily, daughter of Ealph ISTeville, Earl of Westmore- 
land. He married Elizabeth Wydville, or Woodville, 
widow of Sir John Grey, and had eight children. The 
best known in history are : 

Edward, who succeeded him ; 

Eichard, Duke of York; 

Elizabeth, married to Henry VII. 
Edward died at Westminster, and was buried in St. 
George's Chapel, Windsor. His queen is buried by his 
side. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Margaret collected a large army and was met by the 
Earl of Warwick and his forces at Towton ; a battle 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 45 

was fought March 29, 1461, in which the Yorkists 
were completely victorious. Henry and his family fled 
to Scotland. Margaret of Anjou went to France in the 
hope of obtaining aid. After the battle of Hexham, 
May, 1464, Margaret fled with her son, escaped from 
the perils of robbers, and went to her father's court and 
lived some years in seclusion. Henry VI. was im- 
prisoned in the Tower. The marriage of Edward to 
Lady Grey gave great offence to the Earl of Warwick, 
who left the party of the king and sided with the Lan- 
castrians. The Duke of Clarence joined with Warwick, 
who, to strengthen his alliance with Margaret of Anjou, 
espoused his second daughter, Anne, to her son Prince 
Edward. Warwick landed at Dartmouth, September 
13, 1470 ; Henry was released from prison and recog- 
nized as king under the regency of Warwick and Clar- 
ence. April 14, 1471, battle of Barnet; the fickle 
Clarence deserted to his brother, and the Earl of War- 
wick was defeated and slain. May 4, 1471, battle of 
Tewkesbury, in which the Lancastrians were totally 
defeated. Queen Margaret and her son were taken 
prisoners, and the prince was cruelly slain by King- 
Edward and his brothers. King Henry died in the 
Tower a few days afterwards; it is generally supposed 
that he was murdered by the Duke of Gloucester. 
1478, the Duke of Clarence was impeached and con- 
demned to die ; historians say that he was permitted 
to choose the manner of his death, and that he was 
drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine. Edward, at the 
time of his death, was preparing for a war with Louis 
XL of France. 



4:6 AN EPITOME OF 

During this reign the art of printing was introduced 
into England by William Oaxton, a citizen of London. 
The first book printed in England was the '' Game and 
Playe of the Chesse/' in 1474; it was dedicated to 
George, Duke of Clarence. 

Edward V. 1483. 

Born 1471. Son of Edward IV. and Elizabeth 
Woodville. He was murdered in the Tower and buried 
there. During the reign of Charles II. his remains 
were discovered and removed to Westminster Abbey. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

This is the shortest reign in English history, having 
lasted about three months. The Duke of Gloucester 
had been nominated Regent by the late king, and soon 
contrived to get the young king in his own power, and 
imprisoned his uncle. Lord Rivers, and his step-brother, 
Lord Grey, in Pontefract Castle, where they were put 
to death. The queen, with the Duke of York and the 
five princesses, fled to the Sanctuary at Westminster, 
but Gloucester obliged her to surrender the Duke of 
York into his hands. Richard soon had himself pro- 
claimed king, and the two princes were smothered in 
the Bloody Tower, and buried at the foot of the north- 
east staircase in the White Tower. 

Richard IIL 1483—1485. 

Born 1452. Son of Richard, Duke of York, and 
Cecily, daughter of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmore- 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 47 

land. He was married to Anne of Warwick, widow 
of Edward, Prince of Wales, who was murdered at 
Tewkesbury. He had one son, Edward, who died be- 
fore his father. Richard was killed at the battle of 
Bos worth, and buried in the Church of the Grey Friars 
at Leicester. 

Principal Events of Ms Reign. 

The Earl of Eichmond, sole representative of the 
House of Lancaster, who was in Brittany, agreed to 
marry Elizabeth of York and lay claim to the crown. 
The Duke of Buckingham, head of the conspiracy in 
England, was taken and executed, and Henry was 
obliged to return to Brittany. Richard having, as it is 
suspected, poisoned his Avife, Anne of Warwick, pro- 
posed to marry his niece, Elizabeth of York. Henry's 
partisans advised him to prevent this marriage by a 
new invasion, and he landed at Milford Haven, August 
7, 1485. August 22d, battle of Bosworth. Richard 
was killed, and the Earl of Richmond was proclaimed 
king, by the title of Henry VU. Thus ended the wars 
between the Houses of York and Lancaster. Richard 
was the last of the Plantagenets. 

The battle of Bosworth was more important in its 
consequences than any since the Conquest. The battle 
of Hastings brought in the feudal system, and the 
battle of Bosworth put an end to it entirely. On the 
one occasion the contest ceased at the fall of Harold, 
on the other upon the death of Richard. Richard wore 
his crown on the battle-field. It was taken by a sol- 



48 AjV epitome of 

dier, who hid it in a hawthorn bush. Lord Stanley 
found the crown, and placed it on the head of Henry 
VII. The latter assumed the deyice of a crown in a 
thorn bush, and from this circumstance probably ori- 
ginates the old proverb : '^ Cleave to the crown, though 
it hang on a bush." There were fourteen sovereigns 
of the Plantagenet line. 



PLANTAGENET LINE OF KINGS. 

Direct Line. 

Henry II., surnamed Plantagenet 1154—1189. 

Richard I., Cceur de Lion 1189—1199. 

John Lackland 1199—1216. 

Henry III. of Winchester 1216—1272. 

Edward I., surnamed Longshanks 1272—1307. 

Edward II, op Caernarvon 1307—1327. 

Edward III. of Windsor 1327—1377. 

Richard II. of Bordeaux 1377—1399. 



HOUSE OF LANCASTER. 

Henry IV., surnamed Bolingbroke 1399—1413. 

Henry V. op Monmouth 1413—1423. 

Henry VL op Westminster 1422 — 1461. 



HOUSE OF YORK. 

Edward IV. op York 1461—1483. 

Edward V 1483 

Richard III .1483—1485. 



ENGLISH HISTORY, 49 

HOUSE OF TUDOR. 
Hei^ry VII. 1485—1509. 

Born 1455. Son of Edmund, Earl of Eiclimond, and 
Margaret Beaufort, daughter of the Duke of Somerset. 
He married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward 
IV., and had four children : 

Arthur, married Katherine of Aragon and died 

young ; 
Henry, who succeeded him ; 
Margaret, married, first, James IV. of Scotland ; 

and secondly, Douglas, Earl of Angus ; 
Mary, married, first, Louis XII. of France, and 
secondly, Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. 
Henry died at Kichmond and was buried in West- 
minster Abbey in the magnificent chapel which he built, 
and which is called by his name. 

The queen was also buried in Westminster, and her 
monument is beside that of her royal husband. 

Henry was a wise and prudent sovereign, but he was 
arbitrary and tyrannical, and deservedly detested by his 
subjects. He was swayed by two ruling passions, ava- 
rice and hatred of the House of York. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

1487, imposture of Lambert Simnel, who announced 
that he was the young Earl of Warwick, son of George, 
Duke of Clarence. He was sustained by some Irish 
malcontents, and aided by Margaret, Duchess of Bur- 
gundy, the sister of Edward IV. Henry publicly ex- 



50 AN EPITOME OF 

hibited the real Earl of Warwick, who was a prisoner 
in the Tower, and soon quelled the rebellion. Lambert 
Simnel, who confessed that he was the son of a baker 
at Oxford, was made scullion in the king's kitchen, and 
by his good conduct rose to be falconer. In 1492 began 
the long and curious romance of Perkin Warbeck. He 
was the son of a merchant of Tournay, and his princely 
appearance and dignity of behavior well fitted him to 
personate Richard Plantagenet, the young Duke of 
York, w4io had been smothered in the Tower. He was 
acknowledged by the Duchess of Burgundy as her 
nephew, and was kindly received at the court of James 
lY., the gallant and unfortunate Scottish king. He 
was married to the Lady Katharine Gordon, cousin of 
the king. Henry soon bought ofE James's allegiance 
to Warbeck by the hand of his daughter Margaret — 
this princess formed the link which in time bound the 
two kingdoms in one. Perkin made an ineffectual at- 
tempt to push his fortunes m the south-western part 
of England; he was taken prisoner to the Tower, tried 
and condemned, and hanged at Tyburn. Three days 
after the Earl of Warwick was beheaded on Tower Hill. 
The rest of Henry's reign was spent in making for- 
eign alliances and commercial treaties, and in amassing 
wealth ; in attaining the latter object he was totaiiy 
unscrupulous, and was aided chiefly by two unprinci- 
pled men, Empson and Dudley. In 1501, Arthuir, 
Prince of Wales, was married to Katherine of Aragon, 
daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. The 
young prince died four months after his marriage, and 
Henry, being unwilling to return the dowry of the 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 51 

Princess Katherine, negotiated a marriage between her 
and his second son, Henrj^ Henry VII. was despised 
and hated by his subjects, and, though by his wise pohcy 
he had greatly increased the prosperity of England, 
they hailed his death as a relief from the oppressions of 
a tyrant. 

This period is the transition from medieval to mod- 
ern times. The power of the nobles was entirely 
broken, and instead of residing in feudal state in their 
own castles, they became dependents at the court of 
the sovereign. The popular power rose in opposite pro- 
portion, and the invention of printing, and the increase 
of commerce and manufactures, opened a new era to 
the middle and lower classes of England. 1492, Chris- 
topher Columbus discovered America. 1497, Henry 
sent out a small fleet of ships under the command of 
John Cabot, a Venetian merchant. He discovered 
Newfoundland, and also the continent of America. 
His son Sebastian was as great a navigator as his father, 
and they wore the pioneers in the brilliant path of dis- 
covery which opened such a rich and inexhaustible 
mine of wealth to the Old World. 

During this reign the Star Chamber was instituted 
or revived. It was an arbitrary court, so called from 
the hangings of the room in which it was held. It ex- 
isted until the time of the Long Parliament. 

Henky VIII. 1509—1547. 

Born 1491. Son of Henry VII. and EHzabeth of 
York. He had six wives : 



52 AN EPITOME OF 

1st. Katlierine of Aragon, whom he diyorced ; 

2d. Anne Boleyn, whom he beheaded; 

3d. Jane Seymour, who died a natural death ; 

4th. Anne of Cleves, whom he divorced; 

5th. Katherine Howard, whom he beheaded ; 

6th. Katherine Parr, who survived him. 
He had three children, all of whom succeeded to the 
throne : 

Edward, son of Jane Seymour ; 

Mary, daughter of Katherine of Aragon ; 

Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn. 
Henry died at Whitehall and was buried in St. 
George's Chapel, Windsor. This monarch was cruel 
and tyrannical, and has left a name which will be de- 
servedly odious throughout all time. He murdered 
more wives and executed more subjects than any Chris- 
tian sovereign who ever lived; yet, strange to say, he 
never entirely alienated the affection of his people. He 
had the ability to select wise counsellors, and though 
some of them were wicked, none of them were weak ; 
but he was entirely unscrupulous in his means for re- 
moving them whenever they had forfeited his favor. 

Only one of the queens of the royal Bluebeard lies by 
his side. Katherine of Aragon died at Kimbolton 
Castle, and was buried at Peterborough. Henry erected 
the beautiful Abbey-church as a monument to her 
memory. 

Anne Boleyn was beheaded within the Tower, on the 
space before the Church of St. Peter ad Vincula. 
The spot is marked by a slab, with inscription record- 
ing the sad circumstance. Her body was buried in St. 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 53 

Peter's Church in the Tower. There is a tradition 
that it was secretly conveyed to, and interred in, Salle 
Church, the burial-place of the Boleyns, and that the 
spot is marked by a black marble slab without inscrip- 
tion ; but this seems highly improbable. 

Jane Seymour died at Hampton Court, and was 
buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. 

Anne of Cleves remained in England after her di- 
vorce. She died at the Palace of Chelsea, and was 
buried in Westminster Abbey. 

Katherine Howard was executed on the same spot as 
Anne Boleyn, and was buried in St. Peter's Church in 
the Tower. 

Katherine Parr, after the death of Henry, married 
Lord Seymour. She died at Sudley Castle, and was 
buried in the Chapel of Sudley. 

Princi/pal Events of his Reign, 

Henry commenced his reign very auspiciously. He 
united in his person the rival claims of the Yorkists 
and Lancastrians, therefore he had an undisputed title, 
and the avarice of his father had provided him with an 
ample treasury. Soon after his accession Empson and 
Dudley were convicted of treason and executed. In 
June, 1509, Henry celebrated his marriage ceremonies 
with Katherine of Aragon, the dispensation for whiel 
had been granted six years previous. Henry was per 
suaded by his father-in-law, Ferdinand of Spain, 
join a league against France. August 18, 1513, Battk 
of the Spurs. James IV. of Scotland, the ally oi 
France, invaded England. Sept. 9, 1513, the battle of 



54 AN EPITOME OF 

Flodden Field; the English were victorious. James 
IV. was killed, and left an infant son as heir to his 
throne. 1514, Mary, sister of the king, was married to 
Louis, King of France, who died soon afterwards. The 
king was guided almost entirely by the advice of Wol- 
sey, his favorite. His contemporaries, Francis I. of 
France, and Charles V. of Spain and Emperor of Ger- 
many, both sought his alliance, and to effect their ob- 
ject courted the favor of Wolsey. 1519, arrangements 
were made for a meeting between Henry and Francis, 
near Calais. As the former was on his way to France 
he received a visit from Charles Y. at Canterbury, where 
the two kings kept Whitsuntide together. 1520, meet- 
ing of Henry and Francis near Ardres, known as the 
'* Field of the Cloth of Gold." Henry wrote an attack 
on Luther, the German reformer, and obtained from 
Pope Leo X. the title of ^'Defender of the Faith." 
The ambitious Wolsey failed in his scheme to obtain 
the tiara, and as the king had adopted a new favorite, 
Sir Thomas More, he was doomed to fall. His dis- 
grace was finally caused by the opposition he showed to 
Anne Boleyn. 1533, the king divorced Katherine of 
Aragon, on the plea that it was not lawful to marry 
his brother's widow, but his true motive was the desire 
to marry Anne Boleyn, a daughter of Sir Thomas 
Boleyn of Norfolk, which he accomplished the same 
year. This divorce led to a separation from the Church 
of Eome, as the Pope opposed it and issued a bull 
against a second marriage. The king was much influ- 
enced by Thomas Cromwell, who suggested to Henry 
to declare himself head of the Church in his own do- 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 55 

minions; and, in 1534, an Act of Parliament gave him 
the title of "Supreme Head on Earth of the Church 
of England." The blood-thirsty king threatened the 
lives of those who refused to acknowledge his suprem- 
acy; the most illustrious victims were Fisher, Bishop 
of Eochester, and Sir Thomas More. — Thomas Cran- 
mer obtained the king's notice by a proposal to submit 
the question of his divorce to the Universities of 
Europe. He was created Archbishop of Canterbury. 
Cranmer advised the dissolution of the monasteries, and 
proposed that out of their revenues new bishoprics 
should be founded, and colleges of students of divinity 
annexed to every Cathedral. Unhappily his wise and 
noble policy was disregarded, and much of the revenue 
found its way into the king's treasury. It was owing 
to Cranmer that anything was left for the Church. 
1536, Henry's affection for Anne Boleyn began to 
waver, and he sought a pretext to get rid of her. This 
was soon found, and she was tried, condemned, and 
executed. Queen Anne was beheaded on the 19th of 
May, and on the 20th the king was married to Jane 
Seymour, daughter of Sir John Seymour of Wiltshire. 
The late innovations led to much discontent and sev- 
eral insurrections, which were effectually repressed. 
Jane Seymour probably saved her head by dying a 
natural death, and the king sought a foreign alliance. 
Cromwell proposed Anne, daughter of John, Duke of 
Cleves. Hans Holbein painted a flattering portrait of 
the princess, and that determined Henry to marry her. 
However, the original was so much less attractive than 
the picture, that Henry soon got tired of his new 



56 AX EPIT03IE OF 

queen. Anne very willingly gave her consent to a di- 
vorce, and remained m England, comfortably enjoying 
the manors and estates which had been settled upon 
her. Cromwell fell into disfavor, and was executed 
July 28, 1540. On the same day Henry married his 
fifth queen, Katherine, daughter of Lord Edmund 
Howard, and niece of the Duke of Norfolk. This lady 
he beheaded in 1542. The same year James V. of Scot- 
land died of a broken heart, leaving as his heir a 
daughter a few weeks old, the celebrated Marie Stuart, 
Queen of Scots. 1543, Henry married Katherine Parr, 
daughter of Sir Thomas Parr of Westmoreland. Henry 
was engaged for about two years in a war with Prance; 
it was attended with little advantage to either side, and 
was terminated by the treaty of Boulogne. One of 
Henry's last acts was to cause the Duke of Norfolk, 
and his accomplished son Henry Howard, Earl of Sur- 
rey, to be arrested for treason. Surrey was beheaded, 
but Henry died the day before that appointed for the 
execution of the sentence upon the Duke of Norfolk, 
who was thus spared. 

Thomas Wolset, the son of a butcher at Ipswich, 
was '^fashioned to much honor from his cradle." He 
rose to be a Cardinal, and aspired to the Papacy. He 
lived in a style of princely splendor, built Hampton 
Court Palace, and founded Christ Church College, Ox- 
ford. He died at Leicester Abbey. Wolsey's qualities, 
good and bad, have been immortalized by Shakespeare 
in the dialogue between Queen Katherine and Griffith, 
in the drama of Henry VHI. 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 57 

The Reformation is dated from the reign of Henry 
VIII., but the seeds of this important change had 
been sown nearly two centuries before, and were now 
springing forth to bear abundant fruit. Miles Coyer- 
dale was the first to translate the whole Bible into Eng- 
lish; the first edition was printed in Zurich. Cran- 
mer's or the Great Bible was printed in 1538. In that 
year injunctions were given to set up the Bible In 
parish churches. 

The battle of Flodden Field is celebrated in Sir Wal- 
ter Scott's poem, Marmion. 

The celebrated literary men of this reign were: Sir 
Thomas Wyatt, a poet, the friend of Lord Surrey, who 
was also a poet ; Sir Thomas More, anther of Utopia ; 
William Tyndale, a translator of the Bible ; and Eras- 
mus, a native of Holland, who was Greek Professor at 
the University of Cambridge. Hans Holbein, a native 
of Augsburg, was Henry VIH's favorite painter. St. 
Paul's School, London, was founded during this reign. 

Edward VL 1547—1553. 

Born 1537. Son of Henry VIII. and Jane Seymour. 
He died at Greenwich at the age of sixteen, and was 
buried in Westminster Abbey. 

Edward was a prince of much promise ; he possessed 
talents and acquirements beyond his years. His diary, 
still preserved in the British Museum, is very remark- 
able. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

The Earl of Hertford, uncle of the young king, was 
appointed Protector. He was soon after created Duke 



58 AN EPITOME OF 

of Somerset. 1547, the Protector led an army across 
the border for the purpose of forcing the Scots to con- 
sent to the nnion of the two kingdoms by the marriage 
of Edward VI. and Mary Queen of Scots. The En*];- 
lish gained a decided victory at the battle of Pinkie, 
but the Protector did not pursue his advantages and 
returned to England. Shortly afterwards the Scots 
sent their Queen to Erance, Tvhere she married the 
dauphiu, afterwards Erancis II. Parliament passed 
"An Act for the Uniformity of service." The result 
of this was the ^'Book of the Common Prayer," based 
upon the ancient Catholic services which had been 
transmitted from the early days of the Church. Cran- 
mer greatly aided the work by his zeal and sound judg- 
ment. He drew up Porty-two Articles, from which the 
Thirty -nine Articles now in force are derived, and 
compiled the Church Catechism, except the latter part 
concerning the Sacraments. The greater part of the 
people were with the Reformers, but some who resisted 
the movement were chiefly encouraged in their opposi- 
tion by Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, and Bonner, 
bishop of London, who were deposed from their sees 
and imprisoned. The Protector had a fatal quarrel 
with his brother. Admiral Lord Seymour, who, on the 
loss of his wife, the dowager-Queen, Catharine Parr, 
aspired to the hand of the Princess Elizabeth. Sey- 
mour was condemned by a bill of attainder, and exe- 
cuted on Tower Hill, March 20, 1549. 1548—1549, 
insurrections broke out in Cornwall, Devonshire, and 
Norfolk ; the latter was headed by one Ket, a tanner. 
The Protector became unpopular, and a confederacy. 



ENGLISH HISTORY, 59 

headed by the Earl of Warwick, was formed against 
him. The latter was created Duke of JSTorthumberland. 
Somerset was first deprived of his Protectorship and 
afterwards condemned to death. He was executed on 
Tower Hill, January 22, 1552. The Duke of Northum- 
berland, having got rid of his great rival, was now the 
ruling power in the kingdom, though he had no direct 
authority. He influenced Edward to make a will, by 
which the crown was left to Lady Jane Grey, to the 
exclusion of the princesses Mary and Elizabeth. Lady 
Jane Grey was descended from Mary, sister of Henry 
Vni., and Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, She was mar- 
ried to Lord Guilford Dudley, fourth son of the Duke 
of Northumberland. Edward was dying of consump- 
tion and was completely in the power of the Duke. 
He closed his life with a prayer for England and the 
Church of England. 

Edward VL founded Christ's Hospital, London, on 
the site of the Grey Friars Monastery. It is generally 
called " The Blue Coat School " from the dress worn 
by the scholars. The Book of Homilies was compiled 
by Cranmer and Ridley. The latter had been made 
Bishop of London upon the deposition of Bonner. 

Maey L 1553—1558. 

Born 1516. Daughter of Henry VHI. and Kathe- 
rine of Aragon. She was married to Philip 11. of 
Spain and had no children. She died in St. James's 
Palace, London, and was buried in Westminster 
Abbey. 



60 AN EPITOME OF 

Principal Events of lier Reign, 

Upon the death of Edward VI. the Duke of Korth- 
umberland hastened to proclaim Lady Jane Grey. In 
the meantime Mary was coming to London to claim 
the throne. Popular justice declared for Mary, and in 
ten days all those who had endeavored to set aside her 
succession were prisoners in the Tower. Northumber- 
land and his associates were convicted of high-treason 
and beheaded. Sentence was pronounced against Lady 
Jane Grey and her husband, Guilford Dudley, but the 
execution of it was delayed for the time. Mary rein- 
stated Gardiner and Bonner in their sees, and took the 
former as her chief adviser in civil and ecclesiastical 
affairs ; the Protestant bishops were imprisoned, and 
the Eoman Catholic religion was restored. Mary soon 
after her accession proposed to marry her kinsman, 
Philip of Spain ; this project was very unpopular to the 
English, and several attempts were made to resist the 
marriage by force of arms. The most successful rebel- 
lion was made in Kent, by Sir Thomas Wyatt ; he 
penetrated as far as London, but, finding nothing but 
opposition, was obliged to give up and was taken pris- 
oner near Temple Bar. This insurrection sealed the 
fate of Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guilford Dudley, who 
were beheaded, February 12, 1554. Wyatt was exe- 
cuted two months later. 

Mary accused her sister Elizabeth of being implicated 
in Wyatt's rebellion, and imprisoned her in the Tower. 
The princess was afterwards removed to the Palace of 
Woodstock, and kept under strict surveillance. 1554, 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 61 

Mary was married to Philip of Spain; the ceremony 
took place at Winchester. In November Cardinal Pole 
came over to England as a legate from the Pope, and, 
after some concessions from Parliament, he pronounced 
the kingdom reconciled to the apostolic see. 

Now followed the Marian persecution, which has left 
an indelible stain upon the name of the queen, and 
made her known to all posterity as "Bloody Mary." 
Two hundred and seventy-seven persons perished at the 
stake, but, as in the primitive ages, " the blood of mar- 
tyrs was the seed of the Church." We speak of "the 
fires of Smithfield," but it was not only in London 
that the bloody work went on, many suffered in the 
counties. John Eogers was the first who was mar- 
tyred, he was burnt at Smithfield ; Hooper at Glouces- 
ter; Rowland Taylor at Hadley ; Bradford and Philpot 
at Smithfield ; Ridley, Latimer, and Cranmer, at Ox- 
ford. The spot where the last three were executed is 
marked by " the Martyrs' Memorial." Fuller says, "of 
all the Marian martyrs, Mr. Philpot was the best born 
gentleman ; Bishop Ridley the profoundest scholar ; 
Mr. Bradford the holiest and devoutest man; Arch- 
bishop Cranmer of the mildest and meekest temper; 
Bishop Hooper of the sternest and austerest nature; 
Dr. Taylor had the merriest and pleasantest wit ; Mr. 
Latimer had the plainest and simplest heart." After 
Cranmer's death Cardinal Pole was made Archbishop 
of Canterbury. 

1557, Philip persuaded Mary to undertake a war with 
France to support Spanish interests. This was brought 
to a disastrous end by the loss of Calais, in January, 



62 AN EPITOME OF 

1558. This was the last French town held by the Eng- 
lish, in whose possession it had been for over two hun- 
dred years. This and other disappointments greatly 
affected the queen's health, and hastened her death. 
" When I die, Calais will be found written on my 
heart," were the words she uttered in the depth of her 
misery. Cardinal Pole died on the same day as the 
queen. Something may be said in extenuation of 
Mary's character, as her early training and misfortunes 
had not developed her more amiable qualities, but she 
was naturally a tyrant, like her father, with this dis- 
tinction, that Henry was a tyrant without a conscience, 
and Mary a tyrant with one. 

In this reign coaches were first introduced. 

Elizabeth. 1558—1603. 

Born 1533. Daughter of Henry VIII. and Anne 
Bolejm. She never married. Died at Eichmond, and 
was buried in Westminster Abbey in the same vault 
with her sister Mary. Her successor, James L, erected 
a noble monument to her memory. 

In Elizabeth were united the good and bad qualities 
of her race. Her glorious reign has rendered her the 
most popular of English sovereigns, and her people de- 
lighted to call her " Grood Queen Bess." Her character 
was twofold ; as a ruler she was wise and politic, and, 
though tyrannical, she commanded the homage and ad- 
miration of her subjects, for her one sole aim was the 
peace and prosperity of her kingdom. As a woman, 
she displayed very different qualities; she was vain and 



UMGLrSH SI STORY, 63 

weak, and had an insatiable love of admiration. The 
greatest blot on her memory is her treatment of Mary 
Queen of Scots, but even that admits of some extenua- 
tion, and it is not easy to regard it with unprejudiced 
eye whilst so much romance and sympathy attach to 
the unfortunate Marie Stuart. 

Principal Events of her Reign. 

Elizabeth's accession was hailed with great joy by 
the people, and, until recently, the 17th of November 
was called in honor of it "The Queen's Day." Cecil, 
afterwards Lord Burleigh, was the chief adviser of Eliz- 
abeth. Through his counsels and those of his brother- 
in-law. Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord-Keeper of the Seal, 
the Church was gradually restored to the condition it 
was in during the reign of Edward VI. The nation 
generally acquiesced in the Acts of Supremacy and 
Uniformity, and for some time the Church of England 
was the only religion of the kingdom, and was neither 
opposed by Romanism nor Dissent ; but in a few years 
many separated from the established Church, and, from 
their desire to establish what they considered a purer 
form of worship, they received the name of Puritans. 
They are also often called Nonconformists. Elizabeth 
resolved to remain unmarried, although her royal hand 
was sought by a long list of suitors, foremost among 
whom were Philip IT. of Spain, and two of the French 
princes. In 1568, the party of Marie Stuart in Scot- 
land was entirely defeated near Glasgow, and the beau- 
tiful and unhappy queen sought refuge in the domin- 
ions of her cousin Elizabeth. She landed at Working- 



G4 AN EPITOME OF 

ton in Cumberland, and immediately sent to the qneen 
to entreat her protection and aid. The latter refused 
to see her until she could clear herself of the grave 
charge of having assassinated her husband, Lord Darn- 
ley. Mary was removed from castle to castle until 
finally she was imprisoned in Fotheringay. During 
her captivity of nearly nineteen long years, numerous 
conspiracies were formed to overthrow Elizabeth and 
place Mary upon the throne. The most formidable 
were that headed by the Duke of Norfolk, and Babing- 
ton's Plot. After the frustration of the latter the 
queen's ministers advised that some decisive step should 
ber taken, and Mary was tried, and condemned to suffer 
death for high-treason. The sentence was executed at 
Fotheringay Castle, February 8, 1587. The next year, 
1588, Philip II. of Spain sent his formidable Armada 
to invade England. The English zealously prepared 
for resistance ; Lord Howard of Effingham was in com- 
mand of the navy, and Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher 
were amongst those who served under him. The land 
forces were collected at Tilbury, and there the queen 
herself reviewed them, and delivered that famous ora- 
tion which roused the courage and loyalty of her sub- 
jects to the highest degree. The winds aided the gal- 
lant English navy, and of the one hundred and thirty 
ships of the '^Invincible Armada," but fifty-three re- 
turned to Spain to bear the tidings of their defeat. 
1596, expedition to Cadiz. 1599, the Earl of Tyrone 
was in insurrection in Ireland, and the queen's favorite, 
Kobert Devereux, Earl of Essex, was appointed Lord 
Lieutenant of that country to put down the rebellion. 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 65 

Essex managed affairs badly, and, having returned to 
England without permission, fell into disgrace with the 
queen. His subsequent conduct did not tend to rein- 
state him in her favor, and, in IGOl, he was seized and 
conveyed a prisoner to the Tower. His trial and con- 
demnation speedily followed, and he was beheaded on 
Tower Hill. Mount joy, the successor of Essex in Ire- 
land, defeated Tyrone and compelled him to surrender. 
In March, 1603, the queen died, having equivocally 
named James VI. of Scotland as her successor. 

During this reign Sir Thomas Gresham, a relative of 
the queen, founded the *^ Royal Exchange," which was 
opened by Elizabeth in person. 

The bounds of the English nation were much extended 
by the discoveries of Gilbert, Drake, Frobisher, and 
Ealeigh ; and in 1600 the East India Company was 
founded. 

It is in literature, however, that the " Elizabethan 
Age" is chiefly illustrious. The queen, "that bright 
occidental star of most happy memory," was a woman 
of high attainments, and a warm encourager of learning 
and literary men. The great statesmen of this period 
were William Cecil, Lord Burleigh, and Francis Wal- 
singham. Among the poets and prose writers, Richard 
Hooker, Beaumont and Fletcher, Edmund Spenser, Sir 
Philip Sidney, Sir Walter Raleigh, and William Shak- 
speare, are names unrivalled in any age or country. 
EHzabetli founded Trinity College, Dublin, and West- 
minster School, London. The chief favourite of her 
middle life was Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. 



66 AN EPITOME OF 

SOVEREIGNS OF THE HOUSE OF TUDOR. 

Henky VII 1485—1509 

Henry VIII 1509—1547 

Edward VI 1547—1553 

Mary 1 1553—1558 

Elizabeth 1558—1603 



HOUSE OF STUART. 
James I. 1603—1625. 

Born 1566. Son of Lord Darnley and Mary Queen 
of Scots. He was married to Anne of Denmark, and 
had several children, only three of whom survived the 
age of childhood; 

Henry, who died at the age of eighteen ; 

Charles, who succeeded his father ; 

Elizabeth, married Frederick, Elector- Palatine, 
afterwards King of Bohemia. 
James died in the palace of Theobalds, and was buried 
in Westminster Abbey. He earned the reputation of 
being " the wisest fool in Christendom;" he was a scholar 
without having the sense to avail himself of his learn- 
ing; in person he was ungainly, his manners were 
awkward, his habits very unbecoming his station, and 
his lack of personal courage provoked the contempt of 
his courtiers. He was much influenced by unworthy- 
favorites, upon whom he lavished his revenues; but 
whatever were the faults and frailties of his life, on his 
death-bed he showed Christian courao-e and resign atioii. 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 67 

As a sovereign James was unpopular; he held the belief 
in the divine right of kings, and was very despotic. He 
was always an advocate for peace, and willing to make 
any concessions for its preservation. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

James chose as his prime minister Eobert Cecil, son 
of the great Lord Burleigh, to the exclusion of Cecil's 
rival, Sir Walter Ealeigh. The latter was accused of 
being concerned in a plot for placing on the throne 
Lady Arabella Stuart, cousin of the king, and was im- 
prisoned in the Tower for twelve years. 1605, discovery 
of the Gunpowder Plot, which was a scheme of the 
Romanists for destroying the king, the Prince of Wales, 
and the Parliament, by blowing up the Houses of Par- 
liament on the opening of the session, Nov. 5th. G-uy 
Fawkes was seized in the vaults, and he finally made a 
confession which revealed the other conspirators. Some 
of them were executed, and others of them were killed 
in trying to resist the party sent to arrest them. 1612, 
died Henry, Prince of Wales, a youth of great promise. 
On the death of Eobert Cecil, Earl of Sahsbury, the 
king took as his prime favorite a Scotch adventurer 
named Eobert Carr, whom he created Earl of Somerset. 
The Earl and his wife were accused of being implicated 
in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, and upon the 
arrival of a new favorite at court, George Villiers, they 
were tried and sentenced to be banished the kingdom. 
The new favorite was made Duke of Buckingham, 
and loaded with honors. 1617, Sir Walter Ealeigh 
was released for the purpose of undertaking an expedition 



68 ^A' EPITOME OF 

to Guiana, but, as it proved unsuccessful, the unfortunate 
man was arrested and convicted under his former sen- 
tence. He was executed in the Old Palace Yard, West- 
minster. 1619, the English were very desirous to render 
assistance to the Elector-Palatine, who had been elected 
King of Bohemia. James refused aid until too late, 
and the Prince lost both Bohemia and the Palatinate. 
James was continually at variance with his Parliament, 
who refused to grant the subsidies he demanded. A 
marriage between " Baby Charles " and the Infanta of 
Spain now became the darling scheme of James, and 
negotiations ensued. The prince, becoming weary of 
the delay which attended them, set out for Spain with 
the Duke of Buckingham, traveling incognito. The 
king demanded, as a condition of the marriage, that 
his son-in-law should be restored to the Palatinate, but 
as this was refused by the King of Spain, the treaty was 
broken off. Application was then made for the hand 
of Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV. of France, 
and whilst the negotiations were pending the king died. 
During this reign English colonies were established 
in North America. The two principal were the settle- 
ment of Jamestown in Virginia, by the London or South 
Virginia Company, in 1607, and that at Massachusetts 
Bay, by the Plymouth Company, in 1620. James re- 
newed the charter of the East India Company, which 
had been granted but for a limited time, and thus the 
foreign trade of the kingdom was greatly increased. 
The authorized translation of the Bible was published 
in 1611. It was the work of forty-seven learned men, 
from the Universities and Westminster; it has ever 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 69 

since been the only version in the English language 
acknowledged by the Anglican Church, and is the 
noblest monument of the Anglo-Saxon language. 

Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor, created by James I. 
Baron Verulam and Viscount St. Albans, 

"The greatest, wisest, meanest of mankind," 

was, in 1621, found guilty of bribery, and disgraced from 
his high position. Elizabeth, daughter of James I. 
was the heroine of a sad romance. Reduced by her hus- 
band's misfortunes to absolute penury, she still showed 
a brave spirit, and occupied herself in the education of 
her children. Her sons. Prince Charles and Prince 
Bupert, subsequently joined their unfortunate uncle, 
Charles I.; and it was through her youngest daughter 
Sophia, who married Ernest Augustus, of Brunswick, and 
was the mother of George I., that the present royal 
family came to the throne. The following popular 
rhyme will aid the memory in retaining the date of the 
gunpowder plot: 

" Remember, remember, the fifth of November, 
The Gunpowder plot, shall ne'er be forgot." 

Charles L 1625—1649. 

Born 1600. Son of James I. and Anne of Denmark. 

Married Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV. of 

France, and had seven children. Those best known are : 

Charles, afterwards Charles II. ; 

James, Duke of York, who also succeeded to the 

throne ; 
Mary, married to William II., Prince of Orange ; 
Henrietta, married to Philip, Duke of Orleans. 



70 AN EPIT03IE OF 

He was beheaded before the palace of Whitehall; and 
buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. In personal 
appearance Charles presented a great contrast to his 
father ; he was gifted with intellect and taste, in manner 
the most accomplished gentleman in England, and 
possessed of a courtly grace and fascination which few 
could resist. His private character was unblamable. 
He inherited from his father high ideas of the kingly 
prerogative, and also his failing of being influenced by 
his favorites. He was infirm of purpose, and has been 
charged with a want of sincerity; but when his fortunes 
fell and he was in the hands of his enemies, his character 
beamed with all the virtues of a Christian and a gen- 
tleman. The greatest fault of his reign was his weakness 
in consenting to the sacrifice of Strafford, a fatal step 
which was subsequently visited upon him in his own 
misfortunes, and which he bitterly regretted to his dying 
hour on the scaffold. The king was attended on that 
awful occasion by Bishop Juxon. The last sentence 
he uttered was, " I go from a corruptible to an incor- 
ruptible crown," and before laying his head on the 
block he uttered the mysterious word, "Eemember." 

Until the year 1859 the 30th of January was appointed 
throughout the English dominions as a day of national 
humiliation, and a special service was used appropriate 
to the commemoration. This observance was abolished 
by Act of Parliament, as also the hohdays on the an- 
niversaries of the Gunpowder Plot, and the restoration 
of Charles 11. 

Henrietta Maria was not a favorite with the English 
people. During her royal husband's troubles in 1644, 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 71 

she escaped to France, where she received an affectionate 
welcome. Upon the restoration she went to England 
but soon returned to France, where she died at the 
palace of Oolombe, near Paris, Her fnneral oration 
was pronounced by the celebrated Bossuet. Her heart 
was given to the Nuns of the Convent of Chaillot, 
which she had founded, and her body was buried with 
her fathers at St. Denis. 

Principal Events of Ms Reign. 

The marriage with the French princess, which had 
been negotiated in the previous reign, was concluded 
by proxy before James was laid in the tomb. The New 
Parliament, which assembled in June 1625, refused to 
grant supplies to Charles, who immediately raised loans 
from private persons, and fitted out an expedition to 
Cadiz, which terminated very disastrously for the 
English. The next Parliament impeached Buckingham 
of high treason. The king was indignant, forced upon 
his favorite as indemnity the Chancellorship of the 
University of Oxford, and, to save him from further 
prosecution, dissolved the Parliament. 

In 1627, Charles sent a fleet to the assistance of the 
Huguenots, who were besieged in La Rochelle; it was 
commanded by the Duke of Buckingham, and termi- 
nated most ingloriously for the English. The next 
Parliament refused to grant subsidies until Charles gave 
his assent to the celebrated " Petition of Right." He 
did this in a way which offended the Commons and 
they renewed their attack upon Buckingham, whom the 
king continued to uphold. The favorite went to Ports- 



72 AN EPITOME OF 

mouth to superintend preparations for a now attack 
upon La Rochelle^ and was there assassinated by a man 
named John Felton. The expedition to La Eochelle 
was entrusted to the Earl of Lindsay, but he arrived 
too late to relieve the Huguenots, who had been obliged 
to surrender. 

The Parliament of 1629 was a very stormy one. The 
principal question at issue was the royal right to levy 
tonnage and poundage, but political questions had be- 
come embittered by religious differences. Oliver Crom- 
well made his maiden-speech during this session. A great 
tumult having arisen in the House of Commons, the 
king went there in person, but was refused admittance. 
Indignant at these proceedings Charles immediately 
dissolved Parliament, and declared his intention to rule 
alone, and for eleven years England was under absolute 
government. During this period two men became very 
prominent. Sir Thomas Wentworth, afterv^ard Earl of 
Strafford; and Laud, Bishop of London, afterward Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury. The authority of the Star 
Chamber was much extended, and some heavy fines and 
severe punishments were imposed. In 1634, a tax called 
ship-money was levied. The maritime counties com- 
plied cheerfully, but those in the interior refused to 
pay it. The first to protest was John Hampden. 'His 
cause was tried in Westminster Hall, where decision was 
given in favor of the crown. But having withstood ^ 
Charles '^with dauntless breast,^' he was exalted by 
public opinion to a hero and patriot, and became one 
of the king's most powerful opponents. About this 
time Charles endeavored to establish Episcopacy in 



EXGLISir HISTORT. 73 

Scotland, but it met with the most yioient opposition. 
The Presbyterians banded themselves together by a 
^^ Solemn League and Covenant," and raised a con- 
siderable army. In 1640, as war with Scotland seemed 
inevitable and Charles was totally without means to 
carry it on, he was obliged to assemble Parliament. As 
the latter refused supplies and disapproved his arbitrary 
measures, Charles speedily dissolved it again, to the 
great discontent of the people. Meantime tlie difficulties 
between the king and Scotland grew worse. The Scots 
under Leslie crossed into England, and, after a success- 
ful skirmish, took possession of Newcastle. The king 
summoned a Council at York, in which it was decided 
that no appeal to arms should be made for two months, 
that a Parliament should be called to settle the difficul- 
ties, and that during the interval the Scots should be 
maintained at the expense of the northern English 
counties. November 3d, 1640, the famous '' Long 
Parliament " met. Strafford was impeached by the 
Commons of High Treason, and a few days afterwards 
Laud was arrested on the same charge. Stratford was 
tried in Westminster Hall and a Bill of Attainder 
passed against him. The king was in an agonizing- 
state of irresolution whether to sign the bill or to save 
his faithful favorite. His fears finally prevailed, and 
bis assent to the execution was given. When Strafford 
heard it he exclaimed, *' Put not your trust in princes.'' 
The Star Chamber was abolished, and several other 
arbitrary measures reformed. Charles went to Scotland, 
and was rapidly recovering the popular favor, when his 
cause was materially injured by a rebellion in Ireland. 



74: AN EPITOME OF 

In 1642, Charles came to an open rupture with the 
Parliament, and both parties felt that there Avas no 
appeal but to the svv'ord. The king and his sons, the 
Prince of Wales and the Duke of York, went to York. 
He demanded admittance into Hull, the military maga- 
zine of the ^orth, but, being refused by the governor, 
he was compelled to active measures and set up his 
standard at Nottingham, August, 1642. For the next 
six years raged all the horrors of civil war. The king 
was supported by the clergy, the landed gentry, the 
Universities, and the majority of the nobles ; amongst 
his generals were his nephew, Prince Eupert, Lord 
Lindsay, and the Marquis of Nev/castle. Lord Falk- 
land adhered to the royal cause, but he was bitterly 
opposed to the struggle. The Parliamentarians con- 
sisied of the middle classes of England, of tradesmen, 
shopkeepers, dissenters, and a minority of the nobility ; 
among their leaders were John Hampden, Oliver Crom- 
well, Lord Essex, Lord Fairfax, Sir William Waller, 
and the Earl of Manchester. 

The first engagement was fought at Edgehill, Octo- 
ber 23, 1642, without any decided result. Charles 
made Oxford his head-quarters. Battles and sieges fol- 
lowed. Hampden was killed at Chalgrove, near Oxford. 
The Scots joined their forces with those of the Parlia- 
ment, and Prince Eupert was totally defeated at Mars- 
ton Moor, July 2, 1644. By this reverse the king lost 
the northern counties. In 1645, after a long imprison- 
ment. Archbishop Laud was tried, condemned, and 
executed. The king's last battle was fought at Naseby, 
June 14, 1645; the Parliamentary forces were com- 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 75 

pletely victorious, the king was obliged to flee, and his 
army was broken and dispersed. The fall of Bristol 
completed the ruin of the royalists, and the king, 
driven to extreme measures, sought refuge amongst his 
countrymen, the Scots. To their lasting disgrace they 
delivered him to the English Parliament, and he was 
conveyed to Holm by House, Northamptonshire, one of 
his own royal residences. Meantime there were dissen- 
sions amongst his enemies, and the army, led on by 
Cromwell, arrayed itself against the Parliament. The 
king was forcibly taken to Hampton Court, from 
whence he escaped to Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight. 
Cromwell prepared the way for severe measures against 
the king, by exchiding all members from Parliament 
who were not Independents and Eepublicans. He was 
aided in this arbitrary joroceeding by Colonel Pride, and 
it is known as "Pride's Purge." Charles was taken 
from Carisbrooke to Hurst Castle, to Windsor, and 
finally to St. James's Palace, London. He was tried by 
a " High Court of Justice " appointed solely by the 
Commons, who were assembled in Westminster Hall, 
and sentenced to death. He was beheaded at White- 
hall, January 30, 1649. 

During the civil war of this reign the Eoyalists as- 
sumed the name of Cavaliers, and were distinguished 
by their long, flowing locks ; the Parliamentarians were 
called Roundheads, from their close-cropped hair. At 
this period lived A¥illiam Harvey, who discovered the 
circulation of the blood. He announced this important 
discovery in 1616. At the battle of Edgehill he was 



76 AN EFITOME OF 

guardian to the Princes Charles and James. During 
this reign died John Donne and George Herbert, emi- 
nent divines ; and Ben Jonson, a celebrated dramatic 
writer. A great statesman and orator of this reign was 
John Pym, who led the impeachment of Strafford. The 
Dutch painters Kubens and Vandyke enjoyed the pa- 
tronaoje of Charles. 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 1649—1660. 

On the death of Charles I. the Commonwealth was 
proclaimed, and the House of Lords was declared by 
the Commons to be "useless and dangerous." Crom- 
well was appointed Lord Lieutenant to Ireland, and 
having tranquillized that country left his son-in-law, 
Ireton, as his deputy, and went to settle affairs in Scot- 
land. The Scots had refused to acknowledge the Ee- 
public, and had proclaimed Prince Charles as their 
king. Charles landed in Scotland in 1650, but he was 
little more than a prisoner in the hands of his adher- 
ents. Parliament prepared to defend the Common- 
wealth, and Cromwell was appointed commander-in- 
chief of its armies. 

The Scottish army, commanded by General Leslie, 
was defeated at Dunbar, September 3, 1650. Charles 
was crowned at Scone, January 1, 1651. On the 3d of 
September of the same year he was totally defeated at 
Worcester, and obliged to flee to France. 

The English navy, under command of Blake, Monk, 
and Penn, gained signal victories over the Dutch fleet 



ENGLESH HISTORY. 77 

under Van Tromp and De Kuyter. In April, 1653, 
Cromwell took the extraordinary measure of disbanding 
the Long Parliament. Having dismissed the members, 
he locked the doors, put the keys in his pocket, and re- 
turned to Whitehall, where he had taken up his resi- 
dence, Dictator of England. The Long Parliament 
was succeeded by the Little Parliament, or, as it is 
sometimes called from one of its chief orators, Bare- 
bone's Parliament, which consisted of members ap- 
proved by Cromwell. December 10, 1653, Oliver Crom- 
well was made " Lord Protector of the Commonwealth 
of England, Scotland, and Ireland." The Eepublic was 
very prosperous ; Jamaica was taken from the Span- 
iards, the power of Holland was humbled, the cause of 
the persecuted Vaudois was vindicated, commerce flour- 
ished, and in all the civilized states of Europe the 
English power was felt and respected. But though 
the nation was in high esteem abroad, at home there 
was much secret discontent. Cromwell sought the title 
as well as power of king, but when it was offered him 
by Parliament he did not dare to accept, and he lived 
in constant dread of assassination. This apprehension 
and domestic afflictions hurried him to the grave, and 
he died at Whitehall, September 3, 1658. Eicliard 
Cromwell, his eldest son, was immediately proclaimed 
head of the Commonwealth, but his tastes and political 
feelings ill-qualified him for the position. He soon 
signed an abdication, and the Long Parliament was 
restored. General Monk, who was in command of the 
English army in Scotland, marched on to London, 
called a new Parliament, and proposed the restoration 



70 ^l.Y EPITOME Ot 

of Charles Stuart to the throne of his ancestors. This 
proposal was received with universal joy, and May 8, 
1660, Charles 11. was proclaimed king, and the Com- 
monwealth was at an end. 

During the period of the Eepublic and the next two 
reigns, many great names flourished in literature. 
Jeremy Taylor, an eminent divine, chaplain to Laud, 
suffered greatly during the civil wars, and on the res- 
toration was made bishop of Down and Connor in Ire- 
land. " The quaint Fuller," Bishop Hal], Isaac Bar- 
row, and Archbishop Leighton, were also prominent 
among English divines; Cowley, Marvell, Butler, and 
Waller, were distinguished as poets; Sir Matthew Hale 
as one of the most upright of judges ; Lord Clarendon 
as an historian ; and Izaak Walton as a biographer, and 
more particularly as the ^^Eather of Anglers." But 
the greatest name in this period of literature was that 
of John Milton, the uncompromising Puritan, and the 
author of Paradise Lost. He was Latin Secretary to 
Cromwell. 

Oliver Cromwell, "the uncrowned King of England," 
was born in Huntingdon, and descended from an an- 
cient and honorable house. He is one of the most 
extraordinary men in history, and owed his success 
chiefly to his great military talents, his courage, and 
indomitable energy. His peculiarities were not unlike 
those of the great Napoleon, and no occasion was too'' 
dignified or important to restrain him from indulging 
his passion for practical jokes. His love for his family 
was the most amiable trait of his character, but his 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 79 

children did not share his a,mbition, and disapproved 
his course. Cromwell was buried in Westminster 
Abbey, but on the Restoration his body was exhumed, 
hanged at Tyburn, and buried under the gallows. 

Richard Cromwell, after his abdication, spent some 
time in traveling, and then settled down in obscurity 
on his farm of Cheshunt in Herts, where he died at a 
good old age. It is said that he changed his name to 
Clark. 

Chaeles IL 1660—1685. 

Born 1630. Son of Charles I. and Henrietta Maria 
of France. He was married to Catherine of Braganza, 
by whom he had no children. He died at Whitehall, 
and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Charles was 
possessed of excellent qualities, but they were almost 
obscured by his great vices and follies, and he had not 
profited by the lessons of adversity. Rochester was the 
author of the following epigram on the " Merry Mon- 
arch : " 

" Here lies our Sovereign Lord the King, 
Whose word no one relies on; 
He never said a foolish thing, 
And never did a wise one." 

Catherine of Braganza survived Charles. At the Rev- 
olution of 1688 she returned to Portugal, where she 
died. 

Principal Events of his Reign, 

Charles chose Edward Hyde (afterwards Lord Claren- 
don), the faithful friend of his exile, to be Chancellor 



80 AN EPITOME OF 

and Lord-Keeper of the Seal. An Act of Indemnity 
was passed pardoning all who had taken part against 
the Crown, excepting those who were immediately con- 
cerned in the king's death. In 1663, Dnnkirk was sold 
to France for £400,000. War was declared against 
Holland, February 22, 1665. The Duke of York was 
in command of the navy, and gained a signal victory 
off the coast of Suffolk. In the same year the plague 
broke out, and raged with dreadful violence, and the 
following year, 1666, the Great Fire destroyed about 
five-sixths of the whole city of London. Louis XIV. 
of France united with the Dutch against England, and, 
in 1667, De Euyter sailed up the Thames and burned 
several ships at Chatham. A disgraceful peace was 
soon afterwards concluded, and the English had gained 
but little advantage during the war except the acquisi- 
tion of New York in ISTorth America. Clarendon was 
unjustly blamed for the reverses of the Enghsh, and 
dismissed from office. The ministry then formed was 
called the '' Cabal," from the initial letters of the 
names of its members : Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, 
ArlingtoD, and Lauderdale. 1668, the "triple alliance" 
was formed to check the ambitious progress of Louis 
XIV. In this reign the Habeas Corpus Act was passed, 
and a bill was introduced to exclude the Duke of York 
from the succession, as he was a Koman Catholic, but 
it was rejected. There were several conspiracies formed 
to overthrow the Government, the chief of which were 
the j)lot of Titus Gates, that of Monmouth and Alger- 
non Sidney, and the Eye House plot. Several of the 
conspirators were executed; the most bitterly lamented 



E2sGLISH HISTORY. 81 

was Lord Eussell, a very popular man. Charles died 
in the Romish faith. A modern historian has thus 
briefly painted his character: ^^The falsest, meanest, 
merriest of mankind." 

In the diaries of Pepys and John Evelyn we have a 
graphic picture of the court life of this reign. Sir 
Christopher Wren, the famous architect, rebuilt St. 
Paul's, and many of the city churches, which had been 
destroyed by the Great Fire. He designed the monu- 
ment on Fish-street hill, which is erected on the spot 
where the fire first broke out. Sir Christopher Wren 
is buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. Charles II. founded 
Chelsea Hospital. 

In 1682, Pennsylvania was settled by Quakers under 
William Penn. 

James II. 1685 — 1688. 

Born 1633. Son of Charles I. and Henrietta Maria 
of France. He Avas married, first to Anne Hyde, 
daughter of Lord Clarendon, by whom he had two 
daughters : 

Mary, married William of Nassau, Prince of Orange; 
Anne, married George, Prince of Denmark. 
Secondly, he married Mary Beatrice of Modena, by 
whom he had a son ; 

James Francis Edward, afterwards called the 
Pretender. 
He died at St. Germains in 1701, and was buried in the 



82 AN EPITOME OF 

Churcb of the English Benedictines in Paris. In 1813, 
his remains were removed to St. Germains. James was 
unpopular before he came to the throne; he was bigoted 
and arbitrary, and his determination to force Papac}' 
upon the nation lost him his crown. After his expulsion 
he retired to France, where he was received with great 
generosity by Louis XIV. 

Principal Events of Ms Reign. 

James commenced his reign by attempts to re-establish 
the Roman Catholic religion, which gave great dis- 
pleasure to the nation. 

The Duke of Monmouth raised a rebellion in the 
west of England. It proved unsuccessful, and Mon- 
mouth w^as captured and taken to London, where he 
was executed on Tower Hill. His followers were tried 
by the cruel Judge Jeffreys, afterwards Lord Chancellor 
of England, and butchered without mercy ; even in- 
nocent women were not spared, and Alice Lisle, deaf, 
aged, and feeble, was executed at Winchester for hav- 
ing lodged two fugitives from the battle. James grew 
more and more bold in his efforts to restore Papacy ; he 
forced prelates of his own faith on the Universities, and 
issued a ^^Declaration for Liberty of Conscience," which 
was leveled against the liberties of the Church of 
England. Seven Bishops petitioned against it ; San- 
croft, the Primate ; Lloyd, of St. Asaph ; Turner, of 
Ely; Lake, of Chichester; Ken, of Bath and Wells ; 
AVhite, of Peterborough ; and Trelawney, of Bristol. 
They were committed to the Tower, and on their way 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 83 

down the river the banks were crowded with sym- 
pathizing spectators. After a lon^ trial they were 
acquitted, to the great mortification of the king and joy 
of the people. In September, 1688, the heads of the 
Church party in England invited William of Orange, 
son-in-law of the king, to be their champion in the 
cause of civil and rehgions liberty. He accepted these 
advances, and landed at Torbay, November 5th ; he was 
joined by the nobility, clergy, and military, and even 
the Prince of Denmark and the Princess Anne. James 
made no resistance; he was allowed to escape to France, 
and the revolution was effected without a blow. In 
this year, 1688, died John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's 
Progress. 

William III. of Nassau. 1689—1702. Reigned 
jointly with Maey II., his wife. 

William, born 1650, was the son of the Prince of 
Orange, and Mary, eldest daughter of Charles I. 

Mary, born 1662, was the daughter of James II. and 
Anne Hyde. 

They both died at Kensington, Mary in 1694, and 
William in 1702, and were buried in Westminster Abbey. 
They had no children. 

Principal Events of this Reign, 

A short interregnum occurred after the flight of 
James, and on the 13th February, 1689, the Prince and 
Princess of Orange were proclaimed king and queen, 
under the title of William III. and Mary IL The 



84 AN EPITOME OF 

Scots accepted the new sovereigns after a slight resist- 
ance, but there was more opposition to them in Ireland. 
James took advantage of the feeling and landed in that 
country supported by a French army. Londonderry 
was besieged by the Jacobites, as James's followers were 
called, and was not relieved before the beleaguered in- 
habitants had suffered the last extremity of famine. 
William resolved to take the field in person, and landed 
at Carrickfergus. On the 12th of July, 1690, was 
fought the battle of the Boyne, which decided the for- 
tunes of James, who fled to France. William's veteran 
general, Marshal Von Schomberg, was killed. Before 
the king went to Ireland the Bill of Rights was passed, 
and it was also enacted that should the sovereign be- 
come a Papist, or marry a Papist, the subject should be 
absolved from allegiance. In 1691, the campaign in 
Ireland was closed, and William had time to prosecute 
his military plans on the Continent. Marlborough was 
his general during this expedition, which was termi- 
nated by the peace of Pyswick, September 20, 1697. 
James TI. died in 1701, and Louis XIV. immediately 
acknowledged his son, the Pretender, King of England. 
William indignantly prepared for war, but he did not 
live to see the preparations completed. His death 
resulted from injuries received by a fall from his horse. 
His consort, Mary, had died in 1694. In 1701, when 
the only surviving son of Princess Anne died, an act of 
Parliament settled the succession on the descendants of 
the unfortunate Elizabeth, daughter of James I., ex- 
queen of Bohemia and Princess Palatine of the Rhine. 
Mary did not take an active part in the affairs of the 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 85 

governmert, except when William was absent in Ireland 
or on the continent, when she ruled with ability and 
success. 

The massacre of Glencoe was a great stain upon the 
administration of William. 

During this reign, Whitehall was destroyed by fire; 
the Banqueting Hall alone was saved. Chiefly through 
the instrumentality of Dr. Thomas Bray, the two great 
Societies of the Church of England were founded ; the 
" Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge," and the 
^' Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign 
Parts," familiarly known as the C. K. S. and S. P. G. 
societies. At this time flourished Dryden, the poet ; 
Sir Isaac Newton, and Sir Robert Boyle, the great 
philosophers ; Daniel De Foe, author of Robinson 
Crusoe; and Bishop Burnet, an historian. During this 
reign the Czar of Muscovy, Peter the Great, came to 
England to become practically acquainted with various 
manufactures. He was lodged for a time in the house 
of John Evelyn, author of the " Diary." The Triennial 
Bill was passed, and the Bank of England was founded 
in this reign. Chelsea Hospital, for invalid soldiers, 
was finished, and Greenwich Palace was given up as a 
hospital for disabled sailors. 

A^KE. 1702—1714. 

Born 1664. Daughter of James II. and Anne Hyde. 
She was married to George, Prince of Denmark, and 
had many children, only one of whom, George, Duke 
of Gloucester, lived beyond the age of infancy ; he died 



80 AN EPITOME OF 

i 

aged eleven. Anne died at Kensington, and was buried 
in Westminster Abbey. Anne was a selfish and weak 
woman, and completely under the influence of her 
confidantes. The Duchess of Marlborough, Sarah Jen- 
nings, was for a long time the favorite, and she and the 
queen corresponded under the assumed names of Mrs. 
Morley and Mrs. Freeman; but she was afterwards sup- 
planted by Abigail Hill, Lady Mash am. 

Anne was called ^^the Good Queen Anne." Her 
husband, Prince George, had a seat in the House of 
Lords, but took no othsr share in the government. 

Principal Events of her Reign. 

Anne's reign commenced with the war of the Spanish 
succession, in which England, Holland, and Germany 
were allied against France. Marlborough commanded 
the army, and his forces, combined with those of Prince 
Eugene, gained the "famous victory" of Blenheim. 
By this Marlborough was raised to the highest honors ; 
the queen gaye him the royal palace of Woodstock, near 
Oxford, and the nation there built him a splendid man- 
sion, called in comphment, Blenheim. In the same year, 
1704, Sir George Rooke took the fortress of Gibraltar, 
which has ever since remained in the possession of the 
English. In 1707, the two kingdoms of England and 
Scotland were united into one nation under the name^ 
of Great Britain, and it was agreed that they should be 
represented by one and the same parliament. Marl- 
borough's successes on the Continent continued, and he 
won the victories of Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Mai- 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 87 

plaquet. Shortly afterwards he fell into disgrace through 
court intrigues, and was dismissed from his command. 
The peace of Utrecht was concluded in 1713 ; by it 
Newfoundland, Hudson's Bay, and the Island of St. 
Kitts were ceded to the English. On the 31st of July, 
1714, Queen Anne died. 

The reign of Queen Anne is sometimes called the 
Augustan age of English literature. Periodical litera- 
ture was originated by Addison and Steele in the '^Tat- 
ler*' and the "Spectator." Dean Swift excelled in 
satirical writing; and Pope was first among the poets. 
John Locke was a philosophical writer; he drew up a 
constitution for the State of South Carolina. It was at 
this time that the terms Whig and Tory became party 
words ; the Whigs favored the house of Hanover, and 
the Tories were for absolute monarchy, and friends to 
the Stuarts. In 1710, the people were greatly excited 
by the famous trial of Dr. Sacheverel. The Cathedral 
of St. Paul's was finished in this reign, it having 
occupied thirty-five years to rebuild it. 



SOVEREIGNS OF THE HOUSE OF STUART. 

James 1 1603—1625 

Chables 1 1625—1649 

Commonwealth 1649 — 166C 

Charles II 1660—1685 

James II 1685—1688 

Interregnum of two months. 

William III. (and Mary II.) 1639—1702 

Anne 1702—1714 



88 AN EPITOME OF 

HOUSE OF HANOVER OR BRUNSWICK. 

George I. 1714—1727. 

Born 1G60. Son of Ernest Augustus, Elector of 
Hanover, and Sophia, daughter of Erederick, Elector 
Palatine, and Elizabeth, daughter of James I. He mar- 
ried Sophia Dorothea of Zell, and had two children: 
George Augustus, who succeeded him; 
Dorothea Sophia, married Frederick William, king 
of Prussia. 

He died near Osnabruck in Hanover, and was buried 
in the Schlosskirche, Hanover. George I. was possessed 
of some good qualities; he was sagacious, industrious 
and sincere; but his ignorance of the English language 
and habits, and his unreasonable fondness for his native 
country, prevented him from gaining the affections of 
his new subjects. They regarded him with suspicion as 
a foreigner, whose interest in Hanover was stronger 
than that in Great Britain. In his domestic relations 
George I. was very unfortunate. He was separated from 
his wife, who was imprisoned for thirty-two years; and 
he lived at constant and bitter variance with his son. 
and successor. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Party spirit at this time ran very high; the king 
showed a decided preference for the Whigs, and re- 
moved many of the leading Tories from office. Lord 
Bolingbroke, the Duke of Ormond, and the Earl of 
Oxford, were impeached of high treason ; the two 
former escaped to the continent, but the latter was 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 89 

committed to the Tower. These impeachments led to 
some serious disturbances, which gave occasion to the 
passage of the Riot Act. The Pretender, son of James 
II., known by the title of the Chevalier de St. George, 
asserted his claim to the throne, but his cause was ma- 
terially injured by the death of Louis XIV., who had 
promised him aid. September 6, 1715, the Earl of Mar 
raised the standard of the Pretender in the Highlands. 
NoYember 13, the Jacobites, in the north of England, 
were defeated and taken prisoners at Preston. The 
Pretender landed in Scotland on the 22d of December, 
and the 23d of January was fixed for his coronation, 
but before that day the Duke of Argyle, who com- 
manded the forces of the king, had driven him from 
the country, and he was glad once more to seek refuge 
in France. The king was inexorable in his punish- 
ment of the rebels, and many of them were executed. 
Thus ended ^-The Fifteen." In 1716, the Septennial 
Act was passed, by which the duration of Parliament 
was limited to seven years. 1718, Admiral Byng de- 
feated the Spanish fleet in the Mediterranean. The 
quadruple alliance was formed by England, France, 
Holland, and Germany, and, in 1720, the king of 
Spain was obliged to announce his accession to it. In 
the same year misery and ruin were spread over the 
country by the bursting of the South Sea Bubble. It 
was borrowed from Law's Mississippi Scheme in Paris, 
and was chiefly contrived by Sir John Blunt. The 
king died during a visit to Hanover. 

During this reign the order of Knights of the Bath 



90 AN EPITOME OF 

was revived. The eccentric Lady Mary Wortley Mon- 
tague introduced inoculation into England; it was first 
practised upon some criminals in 1721.- Sir Eobert 
Walpole rose to political power daring this reign, and 
was Prime Minister at the time of the king's death. 
Fahrenheit's thermometer was invented in this reign. 

Geoege IL 1727-1760. 

Born 1683. Son of George I. and Sophia Dorothea 
of Zell. He was married to Princess Caroline Wilhel- 
mina of Anspach, and had two sons and five daughters. 
His sons were : 

Frederick, Prince of Wales, who married Augusta, 
Princess of Saxe-Gotba, and had a large family 
of children. His eldest son was George, after- 
wards George IH. He died in 1751. 
George William, Duke of Cumberland. 
He died at Kensington and was buried in Westmin- 
ster Abbey. He did not possess any brilliant qualities 
as a ruler; he was just and sincere, and like all the 
Hanoverian kings possessed personal courage in an emi- 
nent degree, but he was hasty in temper, without intel- 
lect or refinement, and avaricious. Like his father, he 
preferred Hanover to England, and was at enmity with 
his eldest son. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Sir Eobert Walpole was continued in office as Prime 
Minister, and soon wielded an immense power in Par- 
liament. Queen Caroline supported the policy of Wal- 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 91 

pole, aDcL by her extraordinary influence and tact, so 
controlled affairs that she was, in effect, the sovereign 
of the kingdom. In 1737, the Prince of Wales, who 
was very popular, came to an open rupture with his 
father, and he was banished from court; this dissen- 
sion in the royal family was soon followed by the death 
of the Queen, a wise and amiable woman, who was much 
regretted. The commercial interests of England had 
been much injured by the interference of the Spanish 
government, and, as the latter refused redress, war was 
declared in 1739. Admiral Vernon took Porto Bello, 
and gained some other advantages in the Spanish set- 
tlements in America. A continental war was raging 
to support the terms of the Pragmatic Sanction, which 
guaranteed the imperial succession to Maria Theresa of 
Austria.- The English espoused the cause of the em- 
press. The king led the army in person, and, aided by 
his son, the Duke of Cumberland, gained the battle of 
Dettingen, June 27, 1743. In 1745 the allies lost the 
battle of Eontenoy. In 1744, Charles Edward, son of 
the first Pretender, attempted an invasion of England, 
but was unsuccessful. His ill fortune did not deter 
him from making another effort in Scotland the follow- 
ing year; he landed on the coast of Inverness, and 
raised his standard at Glenfinnan. He gained an in- 
considerable victory at Preston Pans, and afterwards 
pushed his arms into England as far as Derby ; but he 
was compelled to retreat, and was finally defeated at 
Culloden by the Duke of Cumberland, April 16, 1746. 
*^ The Forty-five' was the last attempt made by the 
Stuarts to recover the crown of Great Britain. Charles 



92 AN EPITOME OF 

Edward, or the Chevalier, as he was called, wandered in 
the Highlands for some months, but at last he was able 
to make his escape to France. He subsequently resided 
in Italy under the title of the Count of Albany. His 
followers suffered terribly from the severity of the Duke 
of Cumberland. Lords Kilmarnock, Balmerino, and 
Lovat, were beheaded on Tower Hill. In 1748, the 
Continental war was terminated by the peace of Aix-la- 
Chapelle. In 1751, Frederick, Prince of Wales, died, 
and his eldest son, George, was created Prince of Wales. 
In 1755, a war broke out between the English and 
French colonies in America, which led to the Seven 
Years' War. In 1755, General Braddock was defeated 
near Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburg, in Pennsylvania. 
His aid-de-camp was George Washington, a native of 
Virginia, who was afterwards to play such a prominent 
part in the separation from the mother country. In 
March, 1757, Admiral Byng was shot for having failed 
to act with decision in the Mediterranean. At this 
time Lord Clive gained great successes for the English 
arms in India. In 1758, the celebrated Mr. Pitt, after- 
wards Lord Chatham, was placed at the head of the 
British ministy, and he sketched out the plan of the 
American campaign. The English were everywhere 
victorious, but their crowning glory was the capture of 
Quebec, by General Wolfe ; after this the Canadas sur- 
rendered to them. In the midst of triumphs by sea 
and by land, in Europe, America, and India, George II. 
died. 

In 1752, the Gregorian calendar was adopted in Eng- 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 93 

land, and eleven days were taken out of the month of 
September. This change gave rise to the distinctions 
of " Old Style/^ and "New Style." 

During this reign flourished Gay, author of the 
" Beggars' Opera ; " Dr. Arbuthnot, a celebrated Scotch 
physician ; James Thomson, author of " The Seasons ; " 
Dr. Watts; Bishop Butler, who wrote the ''Analogy;" 
Bishop Berkeley, who conferred great benefits on the 
English colonies in America ; Young, author of " Night 
Thoughts ; " and Thomas Gray, author of " The Bard," 
and •' Elegy written in a Country Churchyard." Wolfe 
repeated the latter poem to the officers by his side as he 
was floating down the St. Lawrence, the night before 
the capture of Quebec, and added, "I would rather be 
the autlior of that poem, than take Quebec." During 
this reign Anson sailed round the world ; and the dis- 
astrous massacre of the Black Hole of Calcutta took 
place. The rise of Methodism dates from this reign. 
The founder was John Wesley, and he was aided by 
George Whitefield, a distinguished preacher. A great 
painter during this reign was WilUam Hogarth. 

George IH. 1760—1820. 

Born 1738. Son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and 
Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. He was married to Charlotte 
Sophia, Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and had a 
large family of children. Those best known are : 

George, afterwards Prince Regent, who succeeded 
him ; 



94 AN EPITOME OF 

William Henry, Duke of Clarence, who became 
King William IV. ; 

Edward, Duke of Kent, who married Victoria, 
Princess-Dowager of Leiningen, and sister of 
Prince Leopold of Saxe-Ooburg ; 

Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, who be- 
came King of Hanover on the death of William 

IV.; 

Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge. 
George III. died at Windsor, and was buried in St. 
George's Chapel. He was obstinate and narrow- 
minded; but his faults were redeemed in his private 
character by his domestic virtues, his honesty, his sim- 
ple tastes, and sincere piety. One advantage George 
III. had over his predecessors of the same name — he 
was a true Englishman, and in his first speech declared 
that he gloried in the name of Briton. At different 
periods of his life he suffered from a mental malady, 
which at last became incurable. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

The Earl of Bute, who was high in favor with the 
new king, supplanted Pitt in the ministry. Spain, 
leagued with France by the Family Compact, declared 
war against England. The Peace of Paris was con- 
cluded in February, 1763, and by this treaty several 
valuable colonies in America were secured to Great , 
Britain. In the same year the peace of Hubertsburg 
put an end to the Seven Years' War. About this time 
John Wilkes became very notorious on account of an 
article which he had contributed to No. 45 of *^The 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 95 

North Briton/' a weekly paper of which he was editor. 
The paper created a violent excitement in the political 
world, which lasted several years. Soon after appeared 
the famous Letters of Junius, In 1765, Parliament 
passed the Stamp Act, which was very obnoxious to the 
American colouies, and was the first link in the chain 
of events which led to the Revolution. Patrick Henry 
opposed it with a burst of eloquence in the Virginia 
House of Burgesses. Edmund Burke spoke against it 
with equal eloquence in the House of Commons. The 
Act was afterwards repealed, but this concession failed 
to appease the colonists, who had other grievances to 
complain of. Parliament still maintained the right to 
tax the Colonies. The tax on tea was especially obnox- 
ious, and in December, 1773, "Boston harbor grew 
black with unexpected tea,'' to quote Carlyle. Benja- 
min Franklin, agent in London for the Colonists, 
vaiuly strove to effect a reconciliation between them 
and the Inother-country. The Great Commoner, now 
Earl of Chatham, warned the Lords against forcing 
taxation. Erequent changes in the ministry weakened 
the power of the home government; thirteen colonies 
banded themselves together and elected a Congress. 
In 1774, they drew up a Declaration of Eights and 
Liberties, and sent a petition to the king, stating their 
grievances, and asking for redress. The petition was 
shghted, and on the 4th of July, 1776, the famous 
Declaration of Independence was issued. Meanwhile 
actual hostihties had commenced April 19, 1775, at 
Lexington, where the American troops were victorious. 
The battle of Bunker's Hill soon followed. The Ameri- 



96 ^4.V EPITOME OF 

cans were assisted in their struggle by the French. 
George Washington was Commander-in-chief of the 
American forces, and Lafayette of the French. The 
war was terminated by the surrender of Lord Corn- 
wallis at Yorktown, October 19, 1781. Gibraltar, which 
had been besieged by the French and Spaniards for 
three years, was relieved in 1782. During the prepara- 
tions made to equip a fleet for this service the Royal 
George was lost in Portsmouth harbor, and nine hun- 
dred persons perished. January 20, 1783, a treaty of 
peace was signed at Versailles, and the independence of 
the United States was recognized. About this time 
Captain James Cook was making himself famous by 
his explorations in the South Seas. He made three 
voyages around the world between the years 1767 and 
1779. He was killed in 1779 at the Sandwich Islands 
which he had discovered and named. In 1783 Mr. 
Pitt, son of Lord Chatham, was made Prime Minister 
at the age of twenty-four. 1788, impeachment of War- 
ren Hastings for alleged cruelty in India. Burke led 
the impeachment, and Fox and Sheridan were on the 
same side. The trial lingered on for seven years, and 
finally ended in the acquittal of Hastings, who received 
a pension from the East India Company. The king 
suffered from temporary attacks of mental derange- 
ment. In April, 1789, he went in state to St. Paul's to 
give thanks for his recovery from one of these afflictions. 
In the same year, 1789, the Ke volution broke out in 
France, and the wildest anarchy reigned in that coun- 
try. After the execution of Louis XVL, January, 1793, 
France declared war against England and Holland. 



ENGLISH EISTORY. 97 

The Duke of York commanded the Englisli navy ; 
some victories were gained, and several French islands 
in the West Indies were captured. At this time Napo- 
leon Bonaparte commenced his extraordinary and bril- 
liant career. The allies one by one deserted England, 
until, after the peace of Oampo Formio, she was left 
alone to struggle with the giant foe. Napoleon went to 
Egypt, where he was followed by the English fleet 
under Admiral Nelson. August 1, 1798, was fought 
the Battle of the Nile, in which the whole French fleet, 
except four ships, was destroyed or captured. For this 
victory Nelson was created Baron Nelson of the Nile. 
In this year there was a rebellion in Ireland, probably 
caused by the evil influence of the French Eevolution. 
In 1799 the siege and capture of Serin gapatam. Janu- 
ary 1, 1801, the Union of Great Britain and Ireland 
was proclaimed. In April, 1801, Nelson gained the 
battle of Copenhagen. Napoleon continued his suc- 
cesses on the Continent, and in 1802 was elected Con- 
sul for life, and in 1804 he was created emperor. Oc- 
tober 21, 1805, was fought the naval battle of Trafal- 
gar, in which the English were successful, but Lord 
Nelson was killed. He was buried in St. Paul's Cathe- 
dral. In 1806 Pitt and Fox died. In the same year 
Napoleon issued his decrees from Berlin, which pro- 
hibited all intercourse with England ; the bombard- 
ment of Copenhagen followed, and the sufferings it 
caused are amongst the most painful incidents of the 
war. Spain was occupied by the French, and her king 
displaced by Joseph Bonaparte, brother of the emperor. 
In this distress the Spaniards applied to Great Britain 



98 AN EPITOME OF 

for aid, and the memorable Peninsular War was the 
consequence. The British troops were commanded by 
Sir Arthur Wellesley, afterwards the illustrious Duke 
of "Wellington. January, 1809, Sir John Moore fell at 
Corunna, and was buried on " the field of his fame and 
his glory." In 1810 the king had a return of his 
former malady, from which he never again entirely re- 
covered ; he also became blind. Under these circum- 
stances it vv^as necessary for some head to be appointed 
for the government, and the Prince of Wales was made 
Eegent. In 1812 Mr. Perceval, then Prime Minister, 
was shot in the lobby of the House of Commons. Wel- 
lington gained splendid victories in Spain, and finally 
drove the French from the Peninsula. In 1812 Napo- 
leon retreated from Moscow ; and his reverses roused 
the alHes to new efforts to humble this mighty con- 
queror. March 30, 1814, they gained a victory near 
Paris, and the next day they entered the French capital. 
On the 11th of April Napoleon signed his abdication at 
Fontainebleau, and then retired to the Island of Elba. 

While these events were passing on the Continent 
the government had to turn its serious attention to the 
war with the United States, which had commenced in 
1812, and had assumed a very important and threatening 
aspect. The naval battles were fought principally on the 
Great Lakes, and the Americans were generally victori- 
ous. January 8, 1815, General Jackson gained the battle 
of New Orleans, and the war was terminated by a treaty 
of peace which was signed at Ghent in December, 1814. 

In 1815, while a Congress at Vienna was deliberating 
on the affairs of Europe, Napoleon suddenly appeared 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 99 

again in France. The allied forces immediately pre- 
pared to resist liim, and the decisive battle was fouglit 
at Waterloo, June 18, 1815. Wellington was the hero 
of the battle, but some honor belongs to Bliicher, who 
commanded the Prussian forces. 

Napoleon's cause was completely lost, the allies entered 
Paris in triumph, and the fallen chief was caged in the 
island of St. Helena. In 1815 Ceylon passed completely 
under British rule. In 1816 the pirates of Algiers were 
subdued, and many Christian slaves liberated. In 1816 
the Princess Charlotte, only child of the Prince Eegent, 
was married to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. Her 
death in the following year cast a gloom over the nation. 
A year later Queen Charlotte died. In 1819 the Prin- 
cess Victoria was born, and in 1820 her father, Edward 
Duke of Kent, died. The king survived him but a 
few days, and thus ended the longest and most eventful 
reign in English history. 

The last of the Stuarts, Henry, Cardinal Duke of 
York, died at Korae in 1807. He was buried with his 
father, James Francis, and his brother, Charles Edward, 
in a church at Eome, where a beautiful monument of 
white marble bears the names, James HI., Charles III, 
and Henry IX., Kings of England. It was placed there 
at the expense of the Prince Eegent. 

In this reign electricity was discovered; gas used for 
lighting the streets; the safety lamp invented; vaccina- 
tion practised; telescopes improved; and steam applied 
to navigation and printing. It would be difficult to 
name all the great men and literary characters of this 
period. The principal were: — Goldsmith, Burns, 



100 AN EPITOME OF 

Oowper, Shelley, Keats, Byron, and Sir Walter Scott, 
poets ; Dr. Samuel Johnson, the great philosopher and 
lexicographer, and his biographer Boswell; Adam 
Smith, founder of political economy; Hume and Gib- 
bon, historians; Burke and Sheridan, orators and states- 
men ; Sir Joshua Eeynolds, the first president of the 
Eoyal Academy, Thomas Gainsborough, and Benjamin 
West, painters; John Flaxman, sculptor ; John Howard, 
the philanthropist; and James Watt, Josiah Wedgewood, 
Sir Richard Arkwriglit, Sir William Herschel, and Sir 
Humphrey Davy, inventors. 

George IV. 1820—1830. 

Born 1762. Son of George III. and Charlotte Sophia, 

princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He was married to 

Princess Caroline of Brunswick, and had one daughter: 

Charlotte, who married Prince Leopold of Saxe- 

Coburg, and died November 1817. She was 

buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. 

George IV. died at Windsor, and was buried in. St. 

George's Chapel. 

'^The first gentleman in Europe" was a character 
whom we can neither admire nor respect. He wasted 
his talents and trifled away his advantages, and in old 
age became very morose and unhappy. 

The Princess Charlotte was greatly beloved by the 
people, and her death was very much regretted. Her 
residence, Claremont, continued in the possession of the 
widowed Leopold, the late king of the Belgians. He 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 101 

married a second time^ and when his father-in-law, Louis 
Philippe of France, was expelled from his dominions, 
he offered Claremont as a residence to the exiled royal 
family. 

Prmcipal Events of his Reign. 

A plot was formed to murder the cabinet ministers, 
but it was discovered and the perpetrators executed. 
Queen Carohne was tried and acquitted. Having been 
refused admittance to Westminster Abbey on the corona- 
tion of her husband, she died soon afterwards of mor- 
tification and a broken heart, August 1821. 

In this year the king visited Ireland and Hanover, 
and in the following year he went to Scotland. In 1824 
there was a great Money Panic. Banks stopped pay- 
ment, and there was great distress. Greece made vig- 
orous efforts to throw off the Turkish yoke, and this 
was finally accomplished at the battle of Navarino, 
Oct. 20, 1827, in which the Greeks were aided by the 
combined fleets of England, France, and Eussia. Greece 
became independent, and Otho of Bavaria was placed 
on the throne. Lord Byron espoused the cause of the 
Greeks very warmly, and died at Missolonghi in 1824. 
In 1829 the Eoman Catholic Emancipation Act was 
passed. The king died, after a lingering illness, in 1830. 

William IV. 1830—1837. 

Born 1765. Son of George III. and Charlotte Sophia, 
princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He was married to 



102 AN EPIT03IE OF 

Adelaide, princess of Saxe-Meiningen, and had two 
children who died in infancy. He died at Windsor, and 
was buried in St. George's Chapel. 

The *^ Sailor King" was much beloved by his people. 
He had good sound sense, and a kindly heart, and his 
reign was a useful one. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

In 1830 there was a second revolution in France. 
Charles X. was driven from the throne, and Louis 
Philippe was made King of the French. About the 
same time the Belgians separated from Holland, and 
appointed Prince Leopold their king. During this 
year, 1830, the first railway in England was opened 
between Liverpool and Manchester. The engineer of 
this road was George Stephenson, who was the improver 
if not the inventor of the Locomotive Engine, He was 
assisted in this great enterprise by his son Kobert, 
celebrated as the engineer of theMenai Tubular Bridge. 

In 1832 the Eeforni Bill was passed. Its opposition 
in the House of Lords was received with great indigna- 
tion by the people, and disgraceful mobs followed. In 
1833 was passed the Act for the Abolition of Slavery in 
the British dominions. In the following year the 
houses of ParHament were destroyed by fire. Many 
reforms were made in the poor laws, and in 1835 the 
Municipal Act, by which the Town Councils were re- 
formed, was passed. In this year aid was sent from 
England to Queen Isabella of Spain. Several noted 
authors died during this reign. In September 1832 died 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 103 

the famous Sir Walter Scott, aged 62 years. The great 
Wilhani Wilberforce, the first to bring forward a raotion 
for the abolition of slavery, dying in 1833, lived just 
long enough to see the triumph of the cause for which 
he had labored for more than forty years. In 1834 
Coleridge died, and in 1835 Charles Lamb and Felicia 
Hemans. Other writers of this and the preceding reign 
were: — Thomas Moore, Thomas Campbell, Thomas 
Hood, Samuel Eogers, Eobert Southey, Poet Laureate 
from 1813 to 1843, and William Wordsworth, who suc- 
ceeded Southey as Laureate, and died in 1850. 

Alexan"drika Victoria. 1837. 

Born May 24, 1819. Daughter of Edward, Duke 
of Kent, and the Princess Maria Louise Victoria of 
Saxe-Coburg. February 10, 1840, she was married to 
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who died Decem- 
ber 14, 1861. He had received the title of Prince 
Consort. They had nine children: 

1. Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa, Princess-Royal, 
born Nov. 21, 1840, married 1858 to Frederick 
William, Crown-Prince of Prussia. 

2. Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, heir apparent 
to the throne, born Nov. 9, 1841, married March 
10, 1863, to Princess Alexandra of Denmark. 
Their children are: — Albert Victor Christian 
Edward, born Jan. 8, 1864 ; George, born June 
3,1865; Louise, born Feb. 20, 1867; Victoria 
Alexandra Olga Mary, born July 6, 1868; 
Augusta, born Nov. 26, 1869. 



104 AN EPITOME OF 

3. Alice Maud Marj, born April 25, 1843, mar- 
ried July 1, 1862, to Louis, Prince of Hesse- 
Darmstadt, died Dec. 14, 1878. 

4. Alfred Ernest Albert, of the Royal Navy, created 
in 1874 Duke of Edinburgh, heir apparent to 
the Dukedom of Saxe-Ooburg, born Aug. 6, 
1844, married Jan. 23, 1874, to the Grand- 
Duchess Marie of Russia. 

5. Helena Augusta Victoria, born May 25, 1846, 
married July 5, 1866, to Prince Christian of 
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. 

6. Louise Caroline Alberta, born March 18, 1848, 
married March 21, 1871, to the Marquis of Lome. 

7. Arthur William Patrick Albert, created Duke 
of Con naught and Strathearne, born May 1, 
1850, married March 13, 1879, to Princess Louise 
Margarethe, daughter of Prince Frederick 
Charles of Prussia. 

8. Leopold George Duncan Albert, born April 7, 
1853, married April 27, 1882, to Princess Helena 
of Waldeck. 

9. Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodore, born April 
14, 1857. 

On the death of William IV., his brother Ernest 
Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, succeeded to the 
throne of Hanover, as that kingdom is controlled by 
the Salic law. On the 28th of June, 1838, Victoria was 
crowned in Westminster Abbey. In the same year the 
first steamship sailed from England to America. In 
1840 Penny Postage was made general, owing to the 
efforts of Rowland Hill. From 1839-1842 there was 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 105 

war in Afghanistan. The proximity of that country 
to the Indian empire made it important to the English 
that they should be on friendly terms with its sovereign. 
In 1855 an alliance was made with Dost Mohammed, 
who had usurped the throne. The former Afghan 
prince. Shah Shoojah, had been killed. About the 
same time England aided Turkey in a war with the 
Pasha of Egypt. The latter was forced to withdraw 
his troops from Syria. England was also at war with 
China. In 1842 a peace was concluded, by which Hong 
Kong was ceded to Britain, and several ports in China 
were opened to foreign trade. For some years England 
had much trouble with the Sikhs, a warlike tribe of the 
Punjaub in India. After much fighting the Punjaub 
was finally annexed to the Indian empire in 1849. The 
repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 was a very important 
political event. In 1849 died the Queen-dowager 
Adelaide; and in the same year the queen visited Ireland. 
In 1850 died Sir Kobert Peel. In 1851 a great inter- 
national exhibition was held in London, the idea of 
which originated with Prince Albert. 1852 died the 
Duke of Wellington, the ''^Iron Duke," and the ''hero 
of a hundred fights." He was buried in St. Paul's 
Cathedral. In 1854 commenced the famous Crimean 
war, which terminated with the fall of Sebastopol in 
September, 1855. A treaty of peace was signed at Paris, 
March 30, 1856. 

In the same year the French and English troops 
forced China to open five new ports for trade, and allow 
British subjects to travel through the country. In 
1857 a formidable insurrection broke out in India. 



106 ^.Y EPITOME OF 

After its suppression the government of the country 
passed from the control of the East India Company 
into the dominion of the crown. In 1858 Jews were 
admitted to Parliament. A third war with China broke 
out in 1860, which however did not last long. The dis- 
trict of Kooloon was ceded to Britain. In 1860 the 
Prince of Wales visited America, and was everywhere 
received with great cordiality and enthusiasm. In 
March, 1861, died the Duchess of Kent, and in Decem- 
ber of the same year, the queen, the royal family, and 
the w^hole nation suffered an irreparable loss in the 
death of Prince Albert. The Kensington Museum of 
Art and Science owes its foundation to this noble 
prince. In 1863 the Prince of Wales was married to 
the Princess Alexandra of Denmark; the ceremony took 
place in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. In the same 
year her brother, George of Denmark, was elected King 
of Greece. Lord Palmerston died in 1865. That year 
and the following one were marked by Fenian plots in 
Ireland and England. The Habeas Corpus Act was for 
a time suspended in Ireland. In 1866, by means of the 
Great Eastern, a submarine cable was successfully laid 
from Valentia to Newfoundland. The broken cable of 
the previous year was raised and mended, and formed 
another link between the two continents. Three years 
later a French cable was laid. In 1867 the Second Ee- 
form Bill was passed; and the British possessions in 
North America were united into the Dominion of 
Canada, to consist of four provinces: Ontario, Que- 
bec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The capital of 
the Dominion is Ottawa. 1868 was marked by the 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 107 

Abyssinian war. King Theodore shot himself in April, 
1868. Sir Eobert Napier who conducted the war was 
rewarded for his success with the title of Lord JSTapier 
of Magdala. In 1869 the Irish Church was disestab- 
lished and disendowed, and her bishops no longer al- 
lowed a seat in the House of Lords. The Suez Canal, 
the work of the great French engineer, M. Lesseps, was 
opened the same year. In 1870 the Irish Laud Act 
and the English Education Bill were passed. 1871, 
South Kensington Exhibition, visited by over a million 
people ; Mont Oenis Tunnel opened for use ; Bishop 
Patteson of Melanesia murdered by natives of Vera 
Cruz ; ISTovember 10, Henry M. Stanley, an American, 
discovered Dr. Livingstone at Ujiji on Lake Tangan- 
yika. He sent home letters to his daughter Agnes. 
Letters were received from him until July of 1872. In 
1872 there was another International Exhibition at 
South Kensington ; and in 1873 an Exhibition at 
Vienna, visited by over seven million people. In the 
same year the Shah of Persia made a visit to England ; 
January 15, the Ex-emperor Louis Napoleon was 
buried at Ohiselhurst ; on the same day the Prince Im- 
perial met the friends of the empire, and was saluted 
as Napoleon IV. ; June 29, Prince Frederick William, 
second son of the Princess Alice and Prince Louis of 
Hesse, was killed by falling from a window of the royal 
palace at Darmstadt 1873-1874, the Ashantee War. 
January, 1874^ marriage of Prince Alfred and the 
Grand Duchess Marie Alexandre vna. They were mar- 
ried in the Winter Palace, St. Petersburg. The Ortho- 
dox ceremony was performed by Greek ecclesiastics. 



108 AN EPITOME OF 

and the Anglican by Dean Stanley. In this year the 
king of the Fiji Islands ceded his country to the Brit- 
ish government ; the remains of Dr. Livingstone were 
brought to England, and interred in Westminster 
Abbey; Prince Arthur took his seat in the House of 
Lords as Duke of Connaught ; and Trinity Church, 
the first English Protestant place of worship within the 
walls of Rome, was erected. St. Paul's had been built 
by the Church in America some years previous. Janu- 
ary 1, 1877, Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of 
India at Delhi ; the telephone was first used in Eng- 
land in this year, and the Transvaal Eepublic annexed 
to the British Empire. 1878, Cyprus ceded to Eng- 
land ; July 2d, Anglican Conference opened at Lam- 
beth Palace, attended by ninety-five prelates; Cleopa- 
tra's Needle raised on the Thames embankment ; death 
of the Princess Alice. She died of diphtheria, Decem- 
ber 14th, the anniversary of her father's death. Her 
youngest daughter died a few days before of the same 
disease. She left two sons and four daughters. 1879, 
a great famine in Ireland ; marriage of Prince Arthur 
to the Princess Louise Margarethe of Prussia. 1881, 
death of the Earl of Beaconsfield. April 27, 1882, mar- 
riage of Leopold, youngest son of Queen Victoria, to 
the Princess Helena of Waldeck at Windsor; May 16th, 
assassination of Lord Frederick Cavendish, Chief Sec- 
retary for Ireland, and Thomas Burke, Under Secretary, 
in Phoenix Park, Dublin ; September 17th, death of 
the Rev. Dr. E. B. Pusey; December 3d, death of Dr. 
Tait, archbishop of Canterbury, and Primate of all 
England, aged 71 years. In this year England was at 
war in Egypt. 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 109 

The great men in the realms of Literature, Art and 
Science of the reign of Victoria are so numerous that 
there is not space in this little volume for even a pass- 
ing notice of their achievements. The following are 
the names of some of the eminent men and women who 
have recently passed from us : — Charlotte Bronte died 
in 1855 ; Henry Hallam and Lord Macaulay in 1859 ; 
E. B. Browning in 1861; Thackeray in 1863; Charles 
Dickens in 1870; Lord Lytton in 1873; Henry Kingsley 
in 1876; George EHot in 1880; Thomas Carlyle in 1881; 
Anthony Trollope and Charles Darwin in 1882. Among 
painters : — Sir David Wilkie died in 1 841 ; Joseph 
Turner in 1851; Sir Edwin Landseer in 1871; Sir 
Francis Chantrey, the sculptor, in 1848. Sir Joseph 
Paxton, designer of the Crystal Palace, died in 1865. 
The great explorers of this reign have been: — David 
Livingstone, John Speke, and Sir Samuel Baker in 
Africa; and Sir John Franklin and Robert Maclure, the 
discoverers of the Northwest Passage. Alfred Tennyson 
is the Poet Laureate. 



SOVEREIGNS OF THE HOUSE OF HANOVER OR 
BRUNSWICK. 

George 1 1714—1727 

George II 1727—1760 

George III 1760—1820 

George IV 1820—1830 

William IV 1830—1837 

Victoria 1837 — Long may she reign ! 



QUESTIOI^S 

ON 

ElSrULISH HISTOEY 



1. Which is the legendary period of British history ? 

2. What was the ancient name of England ? 

3. What is the tradition as to the origin of the Britons ? 
4.. Who were the Phoenicians ? 

5. Why were they early acquainted with Britain ? 

6. Who was King Lear ? 

7. Give the date of the first Roman Invasion of Britain. 

8. Who led the Roman Army, and what do you know of 

him? 

9. Who was leader of the Britons ? 

10. What invasion took place 54 B. C. ? 

11. How far did Caesar penetrate ? 

12. What was the ancient name of St. Albans ? 

13. For how many years were the Britons unmolested ? 

14. Who were the Druids? 

15. Where is Stonehenge V 

16. What island was devoted to the residence of the Druids ? 

17. What was a terrible feature of Druidical Worship ? 

18. Who was Cymbeline, and by whom has he been immor- 

talized ? 

19. What can you say about the mock-invasion of Caligula? 

20. When did Claudius invade Britain ? 

21. Who was the Roman general that led the invasion of 

Claudius? 

22. Who was Caractacus ? 

23. What was the ancient name of Colchester ? 



112 QUESTIONS ON 

24. Who conquered the Isle of Wight ? 
35. Who was Titus? 

26. When and where was Caractaciis defeated, and what was 

the result ? 

27. Who took command in Britain A. D. 59 ? 

28. Who destroyed the Druids ? 

29. What happened A. D. 61 ? 

30. Who has called Boadicea, " the British warrior queen ? " 

31. What was the Roman name of London ? 

32. When was Agricola appointed to the command of Britain? 

33. What did Agricola raise ? 
34 What did Hadrian build ? 

35. Why is Hadrian's rampart called the wall of Severus 

36. Where did Severus die ? 

37. Who was the first Christian martyr of Great Britain ? 

38. Where did he suffer, and at what date ? 

39. When and where did Constantius die ? 

40. Where was Constantino the Great first proclaimed Emperor? 

41 . When did the Scots and Picts penetrate to London ? 

42. Relate about the letter sent to iEtius. 

43. What did Vortigern do in 448 ? 

44. What is the date of the Saxon Invasion ? 

45. Who were Hengist and Horsa ? 

46. How may the interval between the Saxon Invasion and the 

Norman Conquest be divided ? 

47. What is the 1st period 't 

48. Whom did Vortigern marry? 

49. When was Horsa slain ? 

50. What occurred in 457 ? 

51. What followed from the successes of Hengist ? 

52. Who was Arthur and when did he die ? 

53. Is his history altogether fabulous ? 

54. Who was St. Augustine? 

55. Had Britain ever been Christianized before St. Augustine 

was sent there ? 

56. Why had it, as a state, relapsed into heathendom ? 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 113 

57. Who was Bertha? 

58. Whom did St. Augustine convert to Christianity? 

59. What can you say about St. Martin's Church, Canterbury ? 

60. When was St. Paul's Cathedral founded ? 

61. When, and by whom, was Westminster Abbey founded ? 

62. What was founded A. D. 644 ? 

63. What do you know of the Venerable Bede ? 

64. What important event occurred in A. D. 827 ? 

65. What was the Saxon capital of England ? 

66. Where had the Britons been driven to? 

67. What is the 2d Period between the Saxon Invasion and the 

Norman Conquest ? 

68. Who was Egbert, and where was he buried ? 

69. Whom did Ethelwulf marry? 

70. What occurred during the reign of Ethelwulf ? 

71. What three kings succeeded ? 

72. Who was Alfred the Great ? and give dates of his reign. 

73. Who are the best known of Alfred's children? 

74. Who gave Alfred much trouble ? 

75. What occurred in 878 ? 

76. What benefits resulted from Alfred's reign ? 

77. Who succeeded Alfred ? 

78. Who was Athelstan ? 

79. Name some of the principal events of his reign. 

80. Who were Edmund I. and Eldred 

81. How did Edmund die ? 

82. Who was St. Dunstan ? 

83. Whom did Edwy marry, and what followed ? 

84. What can you say of Edgar the Peaceable ? 

85. How did Edward the Martyr die ? 

86. What was the surname of Ethelred II., and why? 

87. Who was Edmund Ironside ? 

88. Who was Emma, the wife of Ethelred ? 

89. Name the sons of Ethelred and Emma. 

90. What was the subsequent fate of Alfred ? 

91. What was Danegeld? 



114 QUESTIONS ON 

92. When did the massacre of the Danes take place ? 

93. Who revenged this massacre ? 

94. What became of Ethelred ? 

95. What is the 3d Period between the Saxon Invasion and the 

Norman Conquest ? 

96. What can you say of Sweyn ? 

97. What became of Edmund Ironside ? 

98. Name the sons of Edmund Ironside. 

99. Who was descended from Edward the Exile ? 

100. Whom did Canute marry ? 

101. Who was Hardicanute ? 

102. Where did Canute die, and where was he buried? 

103. Relate an incident in the reign of Canute. 

104. What was the surname of Harold, son of Canute? 

105. What was the fate of Hardicanute ? 

106. What is the 4th Period between the Saxon Invasion and 

the Norman Conquest ? 

107. Who succeeded Hardicanute, and what are the dates of his 

reign ? 

108. Whom did Edward the Confessor marry ? 

109. Where had he been educated, and what was the result ? 

110. Who was Earl Godwin? 

111. To whom did Edward the Confessor leave the crown of 

England? 

112. Who was the true heir? 

113. Where was Edward the Confessor buried ? 

114. Relate the story of Macbeth. 

115. Who was Harold II., and by whom was he crowned ? 

116. Who disputed his claims to the throne? 

117. Where was the fate of England decided ? 

118. Where was Harold buried ? 

119. What was built on the site of the battle-field? 

120. Give the date of William the Conqueror's accession. 
131. Whose son was he ? 

122. What was his father's surname ? 

123. To whom was William the Conqueror married ? 



ENGLISH HISTORY, 115 

124 Mention tlie children of William and Matilda who are best 
known in history ? 

125. What was the fate of Richard, second son of the Con- 

queror ? 

126. How did William the Conqueror divide his possessions 

amongst his sons ? 

127. To whom was Adela married, and who was descended from 

her? 

128. What caused William's death ? 

129. Where did he die, and where was he buried ? 

130. Where was William the Conqueror crowned ? 

131. Upon what conditions did Edgar Atheling resign all claim 

to the crown ? 

132. What rebellions occurred during this reign ? 

133. With whom was William at war at the time of his death? 

134. What was the object of the Curfew bell ? 

135. Where was the New Forest, and why was it made ? 

136. What was the Feudal law ? 

137. Where did Matilda, wife of the Conqueror, die, and where 

was she buried ? 

138. W^hat is the Bayeux tapestry, and where is it preserved ? 

139. Who succeeded William the Conqueror, and what are the 

dates of his reign ? 

140. Where did William Rufus die, and where is he buried ? 

141. Give the date of the 1st Crusade. 

142. What where the Crusades ? 

143. How was Robert enabled to go to the Holy Land ? 

144. When was the Tower built ? 

145. What do you know of Westminster Hall ? 

146. What is Goodwin Sands ? 

147. How was the crime of having depopulated such a vast tract 

of land as the New Forest visited upon the descendants 
of the Conqueror ? 

148. Who succeeded William Rufus ? 

149. What was his surname, and why was it given ? 

150. Who was the proper heir to the throne ? 



116 QUESTIONS ON 

151. Whom did Henry I. marry ? 

152. Why did he marry Matilda of Scotland ? 

153. Who were the children of Henry and Matilda ? 

154. What was the fate of Prince William ? 

155. Whom did Matilda marry ? 

156. What is she called in history ? 

157. Where did Henry die ? 

158. Where was he buried? 

159. With whom did Henry I. war ? 

160. What was the fate of Eobert ? 

161. What effect did the death of Prince William have upon the 

king? 

162. What Order was established during this reign ? 

163. Why did Stephen of Blois claim the throne upon the death 

of Henry I. ? 

164. Who was the queen of Stephen ? 

165. What was the character of Matilda of Boulogne ? 

166. Who was Prince Eustace? 

167. Where did Stephen die ? 

168. Where were Stephen and his queen buried ? 

169. What was the state of the kingdom during this reign ? 

170. Who was the most powerful supporter of Matilda's cause 1 

171. Who fought the battle of Northallerton ? 

172. What was the result? 

173. What compromise was made by Stephen and Matilda ? 

174. Give the date of the 2d Crusade. 

175. Who was William of Malmesbury ? 

176. How many kings were there of the Norman Line ? 

177. Give their names and the dates of their reigns. 

178. What House succeeded the Norman kings? 

179. Whence came the title? 

180. Whose son was Henry II. ? 

181. What was restored in the person of Henry II. ? 

182. Whom did he marry ? 

183. To whom had Eleanor been previously married ? 

184. Name the children of Henry II. and Eleanor ? 



EXGLISR HISTORY. 117 

185. To wliom was Priuce Henry married? 

186. Relate the circumstauce of lais death. 

187. What was the surname of Richard? 

188. Who was Constance of Bretagne ? 

189. To whom was Joan married ? 

190. What caused Henry's death, and where did he die ? 

191. Where was Henry II. buried ? 

192. Who was Thomas a Becket ? 

193. Relate an anecdote to prove the intimacy which existed 

between Becket and the king. 

194. Why was Becket created Archbishop of Canterbury ? 

195. What was the effect of his elevation to the Archbishopric ? 

196. What led to the murder of Becket ? 

197. Relate the circumstances connected with the murder. 

198. How was Becket's memory honored ? 

199. How did Henry publicly show his regret for the murder ? 

200. When was Ireland conquered ? 

201. What circumstances led to the Conquest ? 

202. How did Eleanor use her influence over her sons ? 

203. What was the fate of Geoffrey ? 

204. Who joined Richard in his last rebellion against his father? 

205. Why was that "the most unkindest cut of all ?" 

206. How did it affect the king? 

207. How was the kingdom divided for judicial purposes? 

208. What great improvement in houses was introduced during 

this reign ? 

209. Who was Nicholas Breakspear ? 

210. Who succeeded Henry II. ? 

211. How many years did he reign ? 

212. To whom was Richard married ? 

213. What was the cause of Richard's death ? 

214. How has Richard been regarded in romance ? 

215. What does Sir Walter Scott say of him ? 

216. What was his true character ? 

217. Did he show much affection for his kingdom and sub- 

jects ? 



118 QUESTIONS ON 

218. Relate the incidents connected with IJichard's setting out on 

the Crusade. 

219. What island did Richard capture ? 

220. Who were victorious in the battle of Joppa ? 

221. What truce was made between Richard and Saladin ? 

222. Relate the adventures connected with the capture of the 

king on his return from the Holy Land. 

223. What story is connected with his release? 

224. How was Richard wounded at Chains? 

225. Where is he buried ? 

226. Who was Robin Hood ? 

227. Who succeeded Richard I. ? 

228. What was his surname, and why did he receive it ? 

229. Whom did he marry ? 

230. Name the children of John. 

231. What was the fate of Arthur of Bretagne ? 

232. Why did the king dispute with Innocent III. ? 

233. What did the barons compel John to sign ? 

234. When and where was Magna Charta signed? 

235. What was John's conduct after he had signed the charter ? 

236. Whom did the barons call to their aid ? 

237. Where did John die, and where was he buried? 

238. Where is Magna Charta still preserved ? 

239. Where was Arthur murdered ? 

240. What became of the Damsel of Bretagne? 

241. Give the dates of the reign of Henry III. 

242. Whom did he marry ? 

243. Mention Henry's children. 

244. Whom did Margaret marry ? 

245. Why was Eleanor of Provence a very unpopular queen ? 

246. Who was protector of the realm ? 

247. What was the character of the Earl of Pembroke ? 

248. Where was the French army defeated ? 

249. What great loss did the king and country sustain in 1219 ? 

250. What title did the Pope bestow on Edmund, son of the 

king? 



ENGLISH HISTORY, 119 

251. To what did this empty honor lead ? 

252. Who headed the barons ? 

253. What was the " Mad Parliament?" 

254. Where did it assemble ? 

255. Who tried to act as mediator between Henry and the 

barons ? 

256. When was the battle of Lewes fought ? 

257. What was the result ? 

258. How did Prince Edward effect his escape ? 

259. What battle was fought in 1265 ? 

260. Which party was victorious, and who were slain ? 

261. When did Prince Edward set out on a crusade ? 

262. Who accompanied him ? 

263. How long did Henry HI. reign ? 

264. Where did he die, and where is he buried ? 

265. Who was Roger Bacon ? 

266. What was the surname of Edward I. ? 

267. Was it well applied ? 

268. Whom did he marry ? 

269. What was the surname of Eleanor of Castile ? 

270. Relate the legend of her devotion in the Holy Land. 

271. Where did Queen Eleanor die ? 

272. What respect did Edward pay to her remains ? 

273. What monuments were erected to her memory ? 

274. What is the origin of the name Charing Cross ? 

275. What is being built to replace the old monumental Charing 

Cross ? 

276. Where did Edward die? 

277. What singular directions did he give concerning his body ? 

278. Where was he buried ? 

279. What inscription is there upon his tomb ? 

280. Where was Edward at the time of his father's death? 

281. What war did he undertake a few years after his accession ? 

282. When and where was Llewellyn killed ? 

283. Where was his head placed after his death ? 

284. When was Wales finally conquered ? 



120 QUESTIONS ON 

285. What was the fate of David, brother of Llewellyn ? 
386. What is the reason that the eldest sons of the English 
sovereigns are styled Prince of Wales ? 

287. When were the Jews banished from England ? 

288. How long were they excluded from the kingdom ? 

289. What was the origin of the war with Scotland ? 

290. Who was the Maid of Norway ? 

291. How many competitors were there for the crown of Scot- 

land? 

292. Name the two most important. 

293. In whose favor did Edward decide ? 

294. When did the battle of Falkirk take place, and who were 

victorious ? 

295. What was the character of Sir William Wallace ? 

296. By whom was he betrayed to the English ? 

297. Where was he tried, and where executed ? 

298. What disposition was made of the remains of Wallace ? 

299. Who was Robert Bruce ? 

300. Where and by whom was the Red Comyn slain? 

301. To what did this murder lead? 

302. Where was Bruce crowned king of Scotland ? 

303. Who placed the crown upon his head ? 

304. How was King Edward stopped in his revengeful purpose ? 

305. What attempt had Edward made in France? 

306. What name is given to Edward I., and why ? 

307. What is the subject of Gray's "Bard ?" 

308. Relate the history of " the Stone of Destiny." 

309. Why was Edward II. surnamed " Caernarvon T 

310. Whose son was he ? 

311. What are the dates of his reign? 

312. To whom was he married ? 

313. Where was he murdered ? 

314. What were " re-echoed by the Severn " on that dreadful 

night ? 

315. Where was Edward II. buried ? 

316. What does Gray, the poet, call Isabella ? 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 121 

317. Where was she imprisoned ? 

318. Did Edward keep the promises made to his father ? 

319. What was the consequence of the favoritism shown to 

Gaveston ? 

320. Where was Gaveston executed ? 

321. When was the battle of Bannockburn fought ? 

322. Who were victorious ? 

323. Who succeeded Gaveston in the favor of the king ? 

324. What ensued? 

325. What part did the queen take in these contentions ? 

326. Who was Roger Mortimer ? 

327. What occurred in 1326 ? 

328. What was the fate of Edward ? 

329. What order was suppressed during this reign ? 

330. What disposition was made of their property in London ? 

331. What can you say of Temple Church ? 

332. What is the surname of Edward III. ? 

333. How many years did he reign ? 

334. To whom was he married? 

335. Name the sons of Edward III. 

336. To whom was the Black Prince married ? 

337. Where did he die, and where is he buried? 

338. Name the descendants of Lionel, Duke of Clarence. 

339. What is John of Gaunt called ? 

340. To whom was he married ? 

341. Where did Edward III. die? 

342. Where are Edward and Philippa buried ? 

343. How did theking assert his power, when of an age to govern? 

344. Upon what pretext did Edward make war with France ? 

345. What is the Salique law ? 

346. What great naval battle was fought and with what result ? 

347. How did Edward employ the next two years ? 

348. Why was the French war renewed ? 

349. When was the battle of Crecy fought ? 

350. Who was killed at Crecy, and under what circumstances ? 

351. Who distinguished himself greatly in this battle? ^ 



122 QUESTIONS ON 

352. How long did tlie siege of Calais last ? 

353. How was it terminated ? 

354. What battle was won by Philippa ? 

355. Wben was the battle of Poitiers fought ? 

356. What two kings were prisoners in London at the same 

time? 

357. Where did King John of France die ? 

358. What war did the Black Prince undertake in 1367 ? 

359. Was it advantageous to England ? 

360. Why was Edward's son called " the Black Prince ?" 

361. Repeat Gray's lines which refer to Edward III.'s lonely 

death-bed. 

362. What was the condition of England at this period? 

363. What new branch of trade was opened? 

364. What did the Queen establish at JS'orwich? 

365. Who was Froissart? 

366. Who was Geoffrey Chaucer? 

367. What is he styled by Spenser? 

368. Who was Jacob Van Artevelt ? 

369. Under whose direction was the palace of Windsor built? 

370. What inscription is placed over the great gate ? 

371. What was the subsequent ca,reer of Wykeham ? 

372. What was Wykeham's motto ? 

373. What school did he found? 

374. Who was John Wycliffe ? 

375. By whom was he protected ? 

376. What were his followers called? 

377. What order was instituted in 1344? 

378. Give the popular story of its origin. 

379. Give some description of this order. 

380. What is the crest of the Princes of Wales? 

381. By what right do they bear it ? 

382. What new weapon was introduced at the battle of Crecy ? 

383. By whom was oil-painting invented ? 

384. What institutions were founded by Queen Philippa?* 

385. Where was Richard II. born ? 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 123 

386. What relationship did he bear to Edward III. ? 

387. Whose son was he ? 

388. To whom was Richard II married ? 

389. Where was he murdered ? 

390. Where was he buried ? 

391. What occurred in 1381 ? 

392. What was Richard's conduct on that occasion? 

393. Where was Wat Tyler killed? 

394. What does the ballad of Chevy Chase commemorate? 

395. Why was the battle of Otterbourne fought ? 

396. Who was the Duke of Gloucester ? 

397. Of what was he accused ? 

398. Where was he to be tried, and what occurred before the 

trial ? 

399. What quarrel was brought before the king in 1398, and 

what was his decision ? 

400. When did John of Gaunt die ? 

401. Upon what pretest did Henry Bolingbroke return to 

England? 

402. Where was Richard at the time? 

403. How did Henry improve his advantages? 

404. Where was Richard taken prisoner? 

405. What was his subsequent fate? 

406. What became of the youthful queen of Richard after the 

murder of her husband ? 

407. Give the dates of the reign of Henry IV. 

408. Whose son was he ? 

409. Who was his first wife ? 

410. Name their sons. 

411. Who was Henry's second wife? 

412. Where did Henry IV. die? 

413. Where was lie buried ? 

414. Where was Henry IV. proclaimed king ? 

415. What challenge did he utter on the occasion? 

416. Who was the rightful heir to the crown ? 

417. Was the early part of this reign peaceful ? 



134 QUESTIONS ON 

418. What disturbances occurred. 

419. When was the battle of Homildon Hill fought ? 

420. What was the result ? 

431. Who entered into an alliance against Henry ? 

422. When was the battle of Shrewsbury fought ? 

423. Who distinguished himself in this battle ? 

424. What of Northumberland ? 

425. What was the fate of Archbishop Scroop ? 

426. How were Henry's last days embittered ? 

427. Give an anecdote of the Prince of Wales and Judge Gas- 

coigne. 

428. What royal prisoner was in England at this time ? 

429. How did he fall into Henry's hands ? 

430. How long did he remain prisoner ? 

431. Where was Henry seized with apoplexy ? 

432. What prediction had been made concerning the place of his 

death ? 

433. Describe the scene which took place between the King and 

the Prince of Wales, shortly before the death of the 
former. 

434. Mention the most celebrated of the Prince's jolly com- 

panions. 

435. Where are his mad pranks and follies portrayed ? 

436. Who was the mother of Henry V. ? 

437. What are the dates of his reign ? 
488. To whom was he married ? 

439. Where did he die and where was he buried ? 

440. Who was Katherine of Valois' second husband? 

441. To whom was their eldest son married ? 

442. How did Henry V. commence his reign ? 

443. Who suffered persecution under this king ? 

444. Where was Lord Cobham burned ? ^ 

445. When did Henry determine to invade Prance ? 

416. What conspiracy was discovered previous to his departure? 

447. Where did Henry land ? 

448. Why did he undertake this expedition ? 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 125 

449. How long did the siege of Harfleur last ? 

450. When was the battle of Azincourt fought? 

451. Who were victorious ? 

452. What followed this great battle ? 

453. When did Henry invade France a second time ? 

454. What city was captured after a long siege ? 

455. Give the terms of the treaty of Troyes. 

456. From whence arose the custom of lighting the streets of 

London ? 

457. Who was Sir Richard Whittington, and why has he a place 

in " nursery classics ?" 

458. What was the parentage of Henry VI. ? 

459. To whom was he married ? 

460. What was the name of their only son and whom did he 

marry ? 

461. How and where did Edward of Lancaster die ? 

462. Where was Henry VI. murdered ? 

463. Where was he interred, and to what chapel were his remains 

afterwards removed ? 

464. What was Henry's character ? 

465. What does the poet Gray call him ? 

466. What was the character of Margaret of Anjou 1 

467. Relate the history of Margaret after the downfall of the 

Lancastrians. 

468. In what brief sentence did she sum up her experience of 

life? 

469. Who was appointed Regent upon the death of Henry V. ? 

470. To whom was James I. of Scotland married ? 

471. When did Charles VI. of France die? 

472. Who asserted his claims to the throne ? 

473. What occurred in 1428 ? 

474. Who raised the siege of Orleans ? 

475. Who was Joan of Arc ? 

476. Where was Charles VII. crowned ? 

477. When was Joan of Arc taken prisoner ? 

478. Of what was she accused? 



126 QUESTIONS OJV 

479. Who condemned her to death ? 

480. Where did she suffer the penalty of this cruel sentence? 

481. When did Bedford die ? 

482. What effect had his death upon the English arms in 

France ? 

483. Did Henry make a politic marriage? 

484. What occurred in 1447 ? 

485. What happened to the Duke of Suffolk? 

486. Describe the insurrection of Jack Cade ? 

487. How did it end ? 

488. Who took up arms in 1452 ? 

489. What are these civil wars called, and why ? 

490. Who were victorious at the first battle of St. Albans ? 

491. Did the king at that time remain a prisoner in the hands of 

the Duke of York ? 

492. What was the result of the battle of Northampton ? 

493. What decision was made by Parliament? 

494. What battle was fought in December, 1460 ? 

495. Who were victorious ? 

496. Who were slain in this battle ? 

497. How did Margaret treat her fallen foe? 

498. What did she do after the battle ? 

499. Which party gained the second battle of St. Albans ? 

500. Who was proclaimed king in March, 1461 ? 

501. How long did Henry VI. live after his deposition ? 

502. For what was Joan of Arc distinguished? 

503. What modern poets have celebrated her memory ? 

504. What is one of the most beautiful tributes to this heroic 

woman ? 

505. What can you say of London Stone ? 

506. Where were the badges of the Roses chosen ? 

507. Who was the most powerful baron of this period ? 

508. What is he called ? 

509. What was the badge of Warwick ? 

510. What colleges did Henry VI. found ? 

511. What college was founded by Margaret of Anjou? 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 127 

512. How many sons did tlie Duke of York leave, and name 

them? 

513. Give the dates of the reign of Edward IV, 

514. What was his parentage ? 

515. To whom was he married ? 

516. Name their sons and eldest daughter. 

517. Where did Edward IV. die? 

518. Where was he buried and who lies by his side ? 

519. When was the battle of Towton fought ? 

520. Where did Margaret go after this defeat ? 

521. What battle was fought in May, 1464 ? 

522. Relate an incident which occurred to Margaret and her son 

after this battle. 

523. What gave great offence to Warwick ? 

524. How did he resent it ? 

525. How did Warwick strengthen his alliance with Margaret 

of Anjou? 

526. When did Warwick land at Dartmouth ? 

527. By what was this followed ? 

528. What occurred at the battle of Barnet ? 

529. What battle decided the fate of the Lancastrians? 

530. What became of Prince Edward ? 

531. What became of the Duke of Clarence ? 

532. What preparations was Edward IV. making at the time of 

his death? 

533. By whom was printing introduced into England? 

534. What was the first book printed in England ? 

535. Who was Edward V. ? 

536. Where was he murdered ? 

537. When were his remains discovered ? 

538. What was the length of this reign ? 

539. Who had been nominated regent by Edward IV. ? 

540. How did lie use his power ? 

541. Where did the queen and her other children find refuge? 

542. Where were the young princes smothered? 

543. Where were their remains at first interred ? 



128 QUESTIONS ON 

544. What is tlie date of the accession of Ricliard III. ? 

545. Whose son was he ? 

546. Whom did he marry ? 

547. Where was Richard killed ? 

548. Had he any children ? 

549. Who was at this time the representative of the House of 

Lancaster ? 

550. What right had he to this claim ? 

551. What did the Earl of Richmond agree to do ? 

552. Who headed the conspiracy in England ? 

553. What matrimonial arrangements did Richard propose to 

make after the death of Anne of Warwick ? 

554. How was this marriage prevented ? 

555. When did the battle of Bos worth take place ? 

556. Why was this battle so important in its results ? 

557. To what battle may it be compared ? 

558. Relate the story connected with Richard's crown. 

559. To what proverb did this give rise ? 

560. How many sovereigns were there of the House of Plantagenet ? 

561. How many in the direct line ? 

562. How many of the House of Lancaster? 

563. How many of the House of York ? 

564. Name the Plantagenet kings and give the dates of their 

reigns. 

565. Which of the Plantagenet kings were particularly noted 

for their love of war and conquest ? 

566. Which were very weak sovereigns ? 

567. What House succeeded to that of Plantagenet ? 

568. Who was Henry VH. ? 

569. Why was he induced to marry Elizabeth of York ? 

570. Name his children. 

571. To whom was Margaret married ? 

572. To whom was Mary married ? 

573. Where was Henry VII. buried ? 

574. Who reposes by his side ? 

575. What was the character of this sovereign ? 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 129 

578. By what two passions was he swayed ? 

577. What title was assumed by Lambert Simnel ? 

578. By whom was he supported ? 

579. How did Henry quell the rebellion? 

580. How was Simnel punished ? 

581. What new Pretender made his appearance in 1492? 

582. What was his origin ? 

583. By whom was he acknowledged ? 

584. How did Henry buy off James of Scotland ? 

585. What followed ? 

586. What became of the young Earl of Warwick ? 

587. How was the rest of Henry's reign spent ? 

588. Who were his agents ? 

589. To whom was Arthur, Prince of Wales, married ? 

590. What negotiations followed the death of that prince ? 

591. Sow was Henry regarded by his subjects ? 

592. What change took place in the state of society at about this 

period ? 

593. What discovery was made in 1492 ? 

594. What was the result of the first English expedition to the 

New World, and by whom was it commanded ? 

595. What was the Star Chamber ? 

596. When did Henry Vlll. begin to reign ? 

597. Name his wives. 

598. Name his children. 

599. Where did Henry die, and where was he buried ? 

600. What was the character of Henry VIII.? 

601. In what respect did he show great ability ? 

602. What monument did Henry erect to the memory of Kathe- 

rine of Aragon ? 

603. Where was Anne Boleyn beheaded ? 

604. Where was she buried, and what is the tradition connected 

with her interment ? 

605. Which of Henry's wives reposes beside her husband ? 

606. Where did Anne of Cleves die ? 

607. Where was Katherine Howard beheaded and buried ? 



130 QUESTIONS ON 

608. To whom was Katherine Parr married after the death of 

Henry ? 

609. Under what circumstances did Henry VIH. commence his 

reign ? 

610. How were Dudley and Empson punished ? 

611. How was Henry drawn into a war with France ? 

612. What two memorable battles took place in 1513 ? 

613. What was the result of the battle of Flodden ? 

614. Who was at this time the favorite of the King ? 

615. Name two great contemporaries of Henry. 

616. What two royal meetings took place in 1520? 

617. Why did Henry obtain the title of Defender of the Faith? 

618. What was Wolsey's greatest ambition? 

619. What caused his fall ? 

620. Who succeded him in the King's favor ? 

621. Upon what plea did Henry divorce Katherine of Aragon ? 

622. To what did this divorce lead ? 

623. Under whose suggestion did Henry act ? 

624. What title was given him in 1534 by Act of Parliament ? 

625. Why were Sir Thomas More and Bishop Fisher executed ? 

626. How did Cranmer obtain the notice of the king ? 

627. To what high office was he exalted ? 

628. What proposals did he make with reference to the monas- 

teries ? 

629. Was this wise policy adopted ? 

630. To what did the innovations in the Church lead ? 

631. How was Henry induced to marry Anne of Cleves? 

632. What did Anne of Cleves do after her divorce ? 

633. What caused the death of James V. of Scotland? 

634. Whom did he leave as his heir ? 

635. Mention one of the last acts of Henry's life. 

636. What was the fate of Surrey ? 

637. How did the Duke of Norfolk escape the same death ? 

638. What was Wolsey's origin ? 

639. What great monument still " speaks his virtue " at Oxford ? 
040. Where did he die ? 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 131 

641. Wlien is the Reformation usually dated ? 

642. Is this strictly correct ? 

643. Who translated the first Bible entire into English ? 

644. When was Cranmer's Bible published ? 

645. Name some of the celebrated literary men of this period. 

646. Who was Hans Holbein ? 

647. What celebrated school in London was founded during this 

reign ? 

648. When did Edward VL succeed to the throne ? 

649. At what age did he die ? 

650. Why was his early death much regretted? 

651. Who was appointed Protector upon the death of Henry 

vm.? 

652. Why did Somerset lead an army into Scotland ? 

653. What battle was fought, and with what success ? 

654. To whom was Mary Stuart afterwards married ? 

655. What Act of Parliament was passed in 1549 ? 

656. What is the Book of Common Prayer ? 

657. Who greatly aided in compiling this work, and what else 

did he frame ? 

658. Who steadfastly opposed the Reformers? 

659. What led to the fall of Seymour? 

660. Who formed a confederacy against Somerset ? 

661. What was the fate of the Protector ? 

662.^ How did the Duke of Northumberland use his power? 

663. What claim had Lady Jane Grey to the throne ? 

664. Why was Northumberland particularly interested in her 

advancement ? 
685. How did Edward VI. close his life ? 

666. What is Christ's Hospital ? 

667. By whom was the Book of Homilies compiled ? 

668. Whose daughter was Mary I. ? 

669. How long did she reign ? 

670. To whom was she married ? 

671. Where is she buried ? 

672. What followed the death of Edward VL ? 



13^ QUESTIONS ON 

673. What became of Northumberland and his associates ? 

674. What efforts did Mary make to restore the supremacy of 

Rome? 

675. How was Mary's marriage regarded by her subjects? 

676. Give an account of Wyatt's insurrection ? 

677. To what execution did it lead ? 

678. Of what was the princess Elizabeth accused ? 

679. How was she treated ? 

680. Wiio was sent as legate from the Pope in 1554, and with 

what authority? 

681. How did Mary obtain her abhorrent title ? 

682. How many persons are said to have been martyred during 

these persecutions ? 

683. Name some of the most eminent martyrs. 

684. What does Fuller say of these worthies? 

685. Who was made Archbishop of Canterbury on the death of 

Cranmer ? 

686. What war did Philip induce Mary to undertake ? 

687. With what disastrous result did it terminate? 

688. How did this affect the Queen ? 

689. When did Cardinal Pole die? 

690. What may be said in extenuation of Mary's character ? 

691. What distinction is there between her character and that 

of her father ? 

692. When did Elizabeth ascend the throne ? 

693. Which of Henry's queens was the mother of Elizabeth ? 

694. Where did she die, and where was she buried ? 

695. Who erected a monument to her memory ? 

696. What can you say of Elizabeth's character ? 

697. What is the greatest blot on her memory ? 

698. Can any extenuation be offered for her course ? 

699. How was Elizabeth's accession received by her subjects ? 

700. Who was her chief adviser ? 

701. What very important steps were taken in regard to the 

Church ? 

702. Did the nation acquiesce in this change ? 



EiXGLESH HISTORY. 133 

703. What was Elizabetli's decision in respect to matrimony? 

704. Mention some of the chief suitors for the crown matri- 

monial. 

705. What occurred in Scotland in 1568 ? 

706. Where did Marie Stuart seek refuge? 

707. Where did she land? 

708. How did Elizabeth receive her appeal for protection and aid ? 

709. Where was the Scotch queen finally imprisoned ? 

710. How long did her imprisonment last ? 

711. What efforts were made for her release ? 

712. How did her sad history terminate ? 

713. How did Philip II. menace England, and when? 

714. Who commanded the royal navy ? 

715. What eminent men served under him? 

716. How did the queen encourage the army ? 

717. What was the result of this formidable invasion ? 

718. What expedition was undertaken in 1596, and how did it 

terminate ? 

719. What insurrection occurred in 1599 ? 

720. What appointment was given to the Earl of Essex ? 

721. How did he fulfil his trust ? 

722. Why did he not regain the queen's favor ? 

723. Where was he beheaded ? 

724. Who accepted the office Essex had vacated in Ireland ? 

725. What success had he in that country ? 

726. Did Elizabeth appoint a successor ? 

727. Who founded the Royal Exchange ? 

728. How were the English dominions much extended during 

this reign ? 

729. What was founded in 1600 ? 

730. For what is this reign chiefly remarkable ? 

731. Mention some of the great statesmen of this period. 
782. Mention some eminent prose writers and poets. 

733. What college was founded by Elizabeth ? 

734. What public school did she establish ? 

735. How many Tudor sovereigns were there ? 



13-i QUESTIONS ON 

736. Give their names and the dates of their reign. 

737. What House succeeded that of Tudor? 
788. Who was the first Stuart King of England ? 

739. What claim had he to the throne ? 

740. To whom was he married ? 

741. Mention his children. 

742. To whom was his daughter Elizabeth married ? 

743. Where did James I. die, and where was he buried ? 

744. What epigram illustrates his character ? 

745. What was his personal appearance ? 

746. By whom was he influenced ? 

747. What great qualities did he show on his death-bed ? 

748. What was James's character as a sovereign ? 

749. Who was made prime minister on James's accession ? 

750. How did this create dissatisfaction ? 

751. Upon what accusation was Raleigh arrested? 

752. How long did he remain a prisoner ? 

753. What was the Gunpowder Plot ? 

754. How was it revealed ? 

755. Who was the chief conspirator ? 

756. What penalty did the conspirators suffer for their crime? 

757. What occurred in 1612 ? 

758. "Whom did the king take as his favorite on the death of 

Cecil? 

759. What dignity was bestowed upon him ? 

760. How did he fall into disgrace ? 

761. How did James show his fondness for the new favorite ? 

762. Why was Sir Walter Raleigh released from his long im- 

prisonment ? 

763. Upon what pretext was he re-arrested ? 

764. Where was he executed ? 

765. To what position had the Elector Palatine been raised? 

766. Were the English people favorable to his cause ? 

767. Did the king accede to their wishes ? 

768. What losses did the unfortunate Elector sustain ? 

769. Why was James at constant variance with his Parliament ? 



ENGLISH BISTORT. 13£' 

770. What matrimonial scheme did the King propose for his son 

Charles ? 

771. What romantic journey was undertaken by the Prince and 

Buckingham ? 

772. Why was the alliance broken off? 

773. What negotiations for another marriage were then entered 

upon ? 

774. Which were the two principal colonies settled in America 

during this reign ? 

775. Give the dates of both settlements. 

776. What charter was renewed by James ? 

777. When was the authorized version of the Bible published ? 

778. What can you say of this work ? 

779. Who was Francis Bacon ? 

780. Why was he disgraced from his high office ? 

781. What was the sad history of Elizabeth, daughter of James I. ? 

782. Who were her sons ? 

783. How is she the ancestress of the present line of sovereigns ? 

784. Repeat the rhyme that fixes the date of the Gunpowder Plot 

upon the memory. 

785. What is the date of the accession of Charles I. ? 

786. Whom did he marry ? 

787. Which of his sons came to the throne? 

788. To whom was his daughter Mary married ? 

789. To whom was the Princess Henrietta married ? 

790. Where was Charles beheaded ? 

791. Where was the Royal Martyr interred? 

792. What was Charles's private character ? 

793. What was his character as a sovereign ? 

794. What was the greatest fault of his reign ? 

795. Who ministered to the king during his last moments? 

796. What were the last words Charles uttered ? 

797. How was the 30th January formerly observed ? 

798. When was this practice given up ? 

799. Where did Henrietta Maria remain during her husband's 

troubles ? 



136 QUESTIONS ON 

800. Where did she reside after the restoration ? 

801. Where did she die ? 

802. By whom was her funeral oration pronounced ? 

803. Where was she buried? 

804. When was the marriage of Charles with Henrietta Maria 

concluded ? 

805. What occarred on the assembling of the new Parliament? 

806. How did Charles act on their refusal ? 

807. What charge did the next Parliament prefer against Buck- 

ingham ? 

808. How did the king indemnify him for this prosecution ? 

809. What expedition was fitted out in 1627 ? 

81 0. How did it terminate ? 

811. Upon what condition did Parliament grant the king sup- 

plies ? 

812. How did Charles act? 

813. What was the fate of the Duke of Buckingham ? 

814. To whom was the expedition to La Rochelle then intrusted ? 

815. How did it end ? 

816. What is said of the Parliament of 1629 ? 

817. What was the principal question at issue ? 

818. Who began his political career during this reign ? 

819. Why was the Parliament dissolved ? 

820. What did Charles then do ? 

821. How long did this absolute government continue? 

822. Who was placed over civil affairs ? 

823. Who was head in spiritual matters ? 

824. What is said of the Star Chamber during this period ? 

825. How did Charles raise money ? 

826. Was this measure well received ? 

827. Who was the first to protest ? 

828. Where and how was the cause decided ? 

829. To what was Hampden exalted by public opinion ? 

830. What did Charles endeavor to establish in Scotland ? 

831. What did the Presbyterians do ? 

832. What was Charles obliged to do in 1640 ? 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 137 

833. Did it relieve Mm of his difficulties ? 

834. By whom were the Scotch commanded ? 

835. What did they do ? 

836. What was the decision of the Council of York ? 

837. What name is given to the Parliament that assembled 

November, 1640? 

838. Who was impeached by the Commons? 

839. What occurred to Laud a few days afterwards? 

840. Where was Strafford tried ? 

841. How was his sentence received by the king? 

842. Did he give his assent to the bill ? 

843. What did Strafford exclaim when told of the king's decision ? 

844. What was abolished at this time ? 

845. What injured the king's cause in Scotland? 

846. When did the king and Parliament come to an open rup- 

ture? 

847. To what place did Charles retire? 

848. What was the conduct of the Governor of Hull when Charles 

demanded admission into the town? 

849. Where did the king raise his standard ? 

850. Bj whom was Charles supported ? 

851. What classes sided with the Parliament ? 
853. Name some of the royal leaders? 

853. Mention the principal commanders of the Parliamentarian 

forces ? 

854. When and where was the first engagement fought ? 

855. Where did Charles fix his headquarters? 

856. Where was Hampden killed ? 

857. With whom did the Scots side ? 

858. Where was Prince Rupert totally defeated ? 

859. How did this affect the king ? 

860. When was Archbishop Laud executed ? 

861. When and where was the king's last battle fought? 
863. What became of his army ? 

863. What completed the ruin of the royalists ? 

864. Where did the king seek refuge ? 



138 QUESTIONS ON 

865. How did tlie Scots betray Ms trust in tliem ? 

866. What was the price for which they sold their king ? 

867. Where was Charles conveyed after the sale ? 

868. Were his enemies at peace amongst themselves ? 

869. To what place was he removed ? 

870. To what castle did he escape from there ? 

871. How did Cromwell prepare the way for the king's con- 

demnation ? 

872. What was ' ' Pride's Purge ? " 

873. To what other castles was Charles taken from Carisbrooke ? 

874. By what authority was he tried ? 

875. When was he beheaded ? 

876. What name was assumed by the Royalists during the civil 

wars ? 

877. What were the Parliamentarians called ? 

878. Who was William Harvey ? 

879. Mention two eminent divines of this period ? 

880. Who was Ben Jonson ? 

881. What proclamation was made on the day of Charles's 

execution ? 

882. What resolution was passed by the House of Commons ? 

883. What office was given to Cromwell ? 

884. Whom did he appoint as his deputy, when obliged to go to 

Scotland? 

885. What stand did the Scots take ? 

886. What was Charles Stuart's position in Scotland? 

887. Who was appointed commander-in-chief of the Parliamen- 

tarian forces ? 

888. Where were the Scots defeated ? 

889. When and where was Charles crowned ? 

890. When was the battle of Worcester fought ? 

891. With what result to Charles? 

892. Who were in command of the navy? 

893. What victories did they gain ? 

894. What extraordinary step did Cromwell take in 1653 ? 

895. By what was the Long Parliament succeeded ? 



EKGLISH HISTORY. 139 

896. To wliat office was Cromwell raised ? 

897. What was the condition of the Republic abroad ? 

898. Were affairs at home equally prosperous ? 

899. To what did Cromwell aspire ? 

900. What shortened his days ? 

901. When and where did he die ? 

902. Who was immediately proclaimed Protector ? 

903. Was he qualified for the position ? 

904. What was restored on his abdication ? 

905. Who was in command of the army in Scotland ? 

906. What course did he adopt? 

907. How was his proposal received ? 

908. When was Charles 11, proclaimed? 

909. Who was Jeremy Taylor ? 

910. Mention some prominent English divines of this period ? 

911. Who were eminent as poets ? 

912. Who was Sir Matthew Hale ? 

913. Who was Isaak Walton ? 

914. Mention the great literary genius of the age ? 

915. Where was Oliver Cromwell born? 

916. To what did he chiefly owe his success? 

917. What is said of his peculiarities ? 

918. What was the most amiable trait of his character ? 

919. Did his children sympathize with his ambition ? 

920. Where was Cromwell buried ? 

921. How were his remains treated after the Restoration ? 

922. What became of Richard Cromwell after his resignation ? 

923. Whose son was Charles H.? 

924. To whom was he married ? 

925. Where did he die, and where was he buried? 

926. What was his character ? 

927. What epigram did Rochester write on Charles II. ? 

928. What became of Catherine of Braganza after the Revolution 

of 1688 ? 

929. Whom did Charles choose as chancellor and keeper of the 

Great Seal ? 



140 QUESTIONS ON 

930. What was the act of Indemnity ? 

931. What was done in reference to Dunkirk in 1663 ? 

932. What was declared in 1665 ? 

933. Who commanded the British fleet ? 

934. What occurred in the same year, 1665 ? 

935. By what calamity was this followed in 1666 ? 

936. What happened in 1667 ? 

937. What was concluded soon afterwards ? 

938. What was the chief advantage which the English had 

gained during the war ? 

939. What was the cause of Clarendon's disgrace ? 

940. What ministry was then formed ? 

941 . What is the origin of the name ? 

942. Why was " the triple alliance " formed ? 

943. What important act was passed at this time ? 

944. Why was it proposed to exclude the Duke of York from the 

succession ? 

945. What conspiracies were formed during this reign ? 

946. Who was the most lamented of the condemned conspirators ? 

947. In what faith did (Charles die ? 

948. How has his character been briefly summed up ? 

949. What writers give us a graphic picture of the court life of 

this reign? 

950. Who was Sir Christopher Wren ? 

951. What is the Fish-street-hill monument? 

952. What Hospital did Charles found ? 

953. When and by whom was Pennsylvania settled ? 

954. Who succeeded Charles II. ? 

955. Whose son was he ? 

956. Who was his first wife ? 

957. Name their two daughters. 

958. Who was James's second wife ? 

959. Who was their son, and what is he called in history ? 

960. Where did James die, and where was he buried ? 

961. Where were his remains removed to in 1813? 

962. What was the character of James II. ? 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 141 

963. By whom was lie received after his expulsion from England? 

964. How did James commence his reign ? 

965. Who raised a rebellion in the west of England ? 

966. What was his fate? 

967. By whom were his followers tried ? 

968. Relate the sad fate of Alice Lisle. 

969. What measures did James adopt to restore the Papacy ? 

970. Name the seven Bishops who were sent to the Tower by 

James. 

971. How were the Bishops encouraged in their passage down the 

Thames ? 

972. What was the result of the trial ? 

973. What occurred in 1688? 

974. Where did William of Orange land ? 

975. By whom was he joined? 

976. What did James do? 

977. Who was William of Orange? 

978. Who reigned jointly with him, and whose daughter was 

she? 

979. How long did William survive the queen ? 

980. Where did they die, and where were they buried ? 

981. What was the interregnum ? 

982. When were William and Mary proclaimed king and queen ? 

983. Were the new sovereigns accepted by the Scots ? 

984. What was the state of feeling in Ireland? 

985. How did James take advantage of this ? 

986. What can you say of the siege of Derry ? 

987. What were James's followers called? 

988. Who took the field in person ? 

989. When was the battle of the Boyne fought ? 

990. Who was killed in this battle ? 

991. What bill was passed about this time ? 

992. What statute was enacted ? 

993. What did William do when the Irish campaign was closed ? 

994. Who commanded this expedition ? 

995. What treaty was signed in 1697 ? 



ltl:;3 QUESTIONS ON 

996. When did James die ? 

997. What did Louis XIV. immediately do ? 

998. How did William act in consequence ? 

999. What caused his death ? 

1000. Did Mary II. have much part in the affairs of the Govern- 

ment? 

1001. What Act of Parliament w^as passed on the death of the 

Duke of Gloucester, the only surviving son of the 
Princess Anne ? 
1003. What place was destroyed during this reign? 

1003. Was any portion of it saved ? 

1004. What two great societies were founded through the in- 

strumentality of Dr. Thomas Bray ? 

1005. How are they familiarly known ? 

1006. What great men flourished at this period ? 

1007. Why did Peter the Great sojourn in England? 

1 008. In whose house did he lodge for some time ? 

1009. Whose daughter was Queen Anne ? 

1010. To whom was she married ? 

1011. Had she any children? 

1012. Where did Anne die, and where was she buried? 

1013. What was her character ? 

10 14. Who were her two great favorites ? 

1015. What title has been given to Anne ? 

1016. With what war did Anne's reign commence? 

1017. What three powers were allied against France ? 

1018. Who commanded the English forces ? 

1019. What famous victory did he gain with the aid of Prince 

Eugene ? 

1020. How was he rewarded by his sovereign ? 

1021. What token of gratitude was shown him by the nation ? 

1022. Who took the fortress of Gibraltar ? 

1023. When were England and Scotland united ? 

1024. Under what name ? 

1025. How were they to be represented ? 

1026. What other victories were gained by Marlborough ? 



ENGLISH HISTORY, 143 

1027. What happened to him afterwards? 
1038. What peace was concluded in 1713 ? 

1029. What territories did Great Britain gain by this treaty? 

1030. What is the reign of Queen Anne sometimes called ? 

1031. Who originated periodical writing? 

1032. In what did Dean Swift excel ? 

1033. Who was Alexander Pope ? 

1034. Who was John Locke ? 

1035. What is meant by the terms Whig and Tory ? 

1036. What exciting trial occurred in 1710 ? 

1037. How long was the Cathedral of St. Paul's in rebuilding? 

1038. How many sovereigns were there of the House of Stuart? 

1039. Give their names and the dates of their reigns ? 

1040. How long did the Commonwealth last ? 

1041. What House succeeded to that of Stuart ? 

1042. Who was the first king of the line ? 

1043. What claim had he to the British throne ? 

1044. To whom was he married ? 

1045. Name his children. 

1046. Where did George I. die, and where is he buried ? 

1047. What was his character ? 

1048. What was the fate of Sophia Dorothea? 

1049. With which political party did the king assimilate ? 

1050. Whp t measures were taken against several prominent Tories? 

1051. Why was the Riot Act passed? 

1052. By what name was James Edward, the Pretender, known ? 

1053. Who raised the Pretender's standard in the Highlands ? 

1054. Where were the Jacobites of the North of England defeated ? 

1055. When did the Pretender land in Scotland? 

1056. Who commanded the forces of the King ? 

1057. What became of the Pretender ? 

1058. What Act was passed in 1716? 

1059. What victory was gained by Admiral Byng? 

1060. What was the Quadruple alliance? 

1061. What financial crisis occurred in 1730? 
1063. What order wa s revived in this reign ? 



144 QUESTIONS ON 

1063. By whom was inoculation introduced in England ? 

1064. Who was Sir Robert Walpole ? 

1065. By whom was George I. succeeded? 

1066. To whom was he married ? 

1067. Name his sons. 

1068. To whom was Frederick, Prince of Wales, married ? 

1069. Where did George II. die, and where was he buried ? 

1070. What was his character? 

1071. What is said of Queen Caroline ? 

1073. What domestic difficulty occurred in 1737 ? 

1073. By what was this soon after followed? 

1074. How were the commercial interests of England seriously 

affected? 

1075. To what did this lead? 

1076. What was the Pragmatic Sanction ? 

1077. Whose cause did England espouse ? 

1078. By whom was the battle of Dettingen fought ? 

1079. Where did the allies meet with a serious reverse ? 

1080. What attempt was made by Charles Edward, the Pretender, 

in 1744? 

1081. How did he carry out his plans the following year? 

1082. Where did he raise his standard ? 

1083. Where did he gain an inconsiderable victory ? 

1084. How far did he penetrate into England ? 

1085. Where was he finally defeated, and by whom ? 

1086. What afterwards became of the Pretender? 

1087. What lords were beheaded on Tower Hill ? 

1088. What peace was concluded in 1748? 

1089. What war broke out in 1755? 

1090. To what great contest did it lead ? 

1091. Where was General Braddock defeated? 

1092. Who was his aid-de-camp ? 

1093. What was the fate of Admiral Byng ? 

1094. What victories were gained by Lord Clive ? 

1095. Who was at the head of the ministry in 1758 ? 
1090. What plan did he sketch out? 



UNOLISS HISTORY. 145 

1097. Who was the hero of Quebec ? 

1098. What followed his great victory ? 

1099. What was the military condition of England at the death 

of George II. ? 

1100. What is meant by Old and New Style ? 

1101. Who was the author of the " Beggar's Opera?" 

1103. Mention a celebrated Scotch physician who lived during 
this reign. 

1103. Who was the author of the " Seasons?" 

1104. Who wrote the Analogy ? 

1105. What is said of Bishop Berkeley ? 

1106. Who was Thomas Gray? 

1107. What was General Wolfe's eulogy on Gray's Elegy? 

1108. What was the Black Hole of Calcutta? 

1109. Whose son was George III.? 

1110. To whom was he married ? 

1111. Mention his sons. 

1113. Where did George die, and where was he buried ? 

1113. What was his character? 

1114. What advantage did he possess over his predecessors ? 

1115. With what was George afflicted at different times ? 

1116. Who supplanted Pitt in the ministry? 

1117. What terminated the Seven Years' War? 

] 118. What were secured to Great Britain by this treaty ? 
1119. How did John Wilkes become notorious ? 

1130. What Act was passed by Parliament in 1765? 

1131. How was it received in America? 
1133. Who was Patrick Henry ? 

1133. How was the power of the government weakened ? 

1134. What memorable event took place July 4th, 1776? 

1135. By whom were the Americans aided in this war ? 

1136. Who was Lafayette ? 

1137. WTio was commander-in-chief of the American forces ? 

1138. How was the Revolutionary war terminated ? 

1139. When was the siege of Gibraltar raised? 
1130. When and where was the Royal George lost ? 



146 QUESTIONS ON 

1131. What treaty was signed at Versailles in 1783 ? 
1133. When did the Revolution break out in France ? 

1133. When was Louis XVI. executed? 

1134. Against whom did France declare war? 

1135. Who commanded the English navy ? 

1136. What was England's position after the peace of Campio 

Formio? 

1137. What country did Napoleon invade in 1798? 

1138. Who was sent out against the French ? 

1139. What great naval victory did he gain? 

1140. When was the union of Great Britain and Ireland pro- 

claimed ? 

1141. What rapid advances were made by Napoleon ? 
1143. When was the battle of Trafalgar fought ? 

1143. With what result ? 

1144. What was the purport of the Berlin decrees? 

1145. What measures were adopted by England ? 

1146. What important events had transpired in Spain ? 

1147. Did the English respond to an appeal for aid ? 

1148. By whom were the British troops commanded ? 

1149. What battle was fought in January, 1809? 

1150. Why was the Prince of Wales appointed Regent in 1810 ? 

1151. What was the fate of Mr. Perceval, the Prime Minister? 

1152. How did the Peninsular war end ? 

1153. When did Napoleon retreat from Moscow ? 

1154. When did the allies enter Paris ? 

1155. To what humiliating steps was the Emperor forced ? 

1156. What was the place of his banishment? 

1157. Relate some particulars of the American war of 1812. 

1158. Where was a treaty of peace signed ? 

1159. How was the Congress of Vienna, in 1815, brought to an 

abrupt close ? 

1160. What memorable battle brought Napoleon's military career 

to a close ? 

1161. Who was the hero of this battle ? 
1163. Who commanded the Prussian Army ? 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 147 

1163. What was done with Napoleon ? 

1164. To whom was the Princess Charlotte married? 

1165. When did the Duke of Kent die ? 

1166. Why is this reign particularly memorable ? 

1167. W^hat were the most important inventions and discoveries 

of this reign ? 

1168. Mention some great poets of the age ? 

1169. Who was Adam Smith? 

1170. Who was Dr. Johnson ? 

1171. Name the eminent painters of that time? 
1173. How was Edmund Burke distinguished ? 

1173. Why was John Howard remarkable? 

1174. Who was George IV. ? 

1175. To whom was he married ? 

1176. Name his only child ? 

1177. Where was she buried ? 

1178. Where did George die, and where was he buried ! 

1179. What was George IV.'s character ? 

U80. What can you say of Princess Charlotte's residence, Clare- 
mont? 

1181. What plot was discovered early in this reign? 

1182. What was the principal cause of the death of Queen Caro- 

line? 

1183. When was the battle of Navarino fought ? 

1184. What advantages did it obtain for Greece ? 

1185. What Act was passed in 1829 ? 

1186. Who was William IV. ? - 

1187. To whom was he married ? 

1188. Where did he die, and where was he buried ? 

1189. What celebrated bill was passed in 1832? 

1190. How was its opposition in the House of Peers received by 

the people ? 

1191. What occurred in 1834? 

1192. When was the first railway opened in England? 

1193. Whose daughter is Victoria, the reigning Queen? 

1194. To whom was she married ? 



148 QUESTIONS ON 

1195. What title did he receive? 

1196. Name the Queen's children. 

1197. To whom is the Princess Royal married ? 

1198. Who is heir apparent to the throne? 

1199. To whom is the Princess Alice married ? 

1200. What title has been given to Prince Alfred ? 

1301. Who succeeded to the kingdom of Hanover on the death 
of William IV.? 

1202. Why did it pass from the English crown ? 

1203. When did the first steamship sail from England to America ? 

1204. What Exhibition was held in 1851 ? 

1205. By whom was it projected? 

1206. When did the Duke of Wellington die? 

1207. What war commenced in 1854? 

1208. With what did it terminate ? 

1209. Where was a treaty of peace signed ? 

1210. What insurrection broke out in 1857 ? 

1211. What change was afterwards made in the government of 

India ? 

1212. What occurred in 1860 ? 

1213. How was he received during his visit ? 

1214. When did the Duchess of Kent die ? 

1215. What calamity befell the nation in December of the same 

year? 

1216. When was the Prince of Wales married? 

1217. Where did the ceremony take place ? 

1218. Who was made King of Greece the same year ? 

1219. When did Lord Palmerston die ? 
1320. When was the Atlantic cable laid? 

1221. What occurred in 1867 ? 

1222. What events marked the year 1868 ? 

1223. What occurred in 1869 ? 

1224. What bills were passed in 1870 ? 

1225. Name the events of 1871. 

1226. When was the next International Exhibition ? 

1227. What occurred in 1873 ? 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 149 

1228. What in 1874 ? 

1329. When was Queen Victoria proclaimed Empress of India? 

1230. What other events the same year ? 

1231. What occurred in 1878 ? 

1232. What in 1879 ? 

1233. When did the Earl of Beaconsfield die ? 

1234. Mention some events of 1882. 

1235. Mention some distinguished writers of the reign of Vic- 

toria? 

1236. Who have been the chief painters ? 

1237. Who designed the Crystal Palace? 

1238. Mention some noted explorers. 

1239. Who is the Poet Laureate ? 

1240. Name the sovereigns of the House of Hanover, and give 

the dates of their reigns. 



THE NATIONAL SERIES OF STANDARD SCHOOL-BOOKS. 




GENERAL HISTORY. 

Monteith's Youth's History of the United States. 

A History of the United States for beginners. It is arranged upon the cateclietical plan, 
with illustrative maps and engravings, review questions, dates in parentlieses (that their 
study may be optional with the younger class of learners), and interesting biograjihical 
sketches of all persons who have been prominently identified with the history of our 
country. 

Willard's United States. School and University Editions. 

The plan of this standard worlc is chronologically exhibited in front of the titlepage. 
Tlie maps and sketches are found useful assistants to the memory ; and dates, usually 
so difficult to remember, are so systematically arranged as in a great degree to obviate 
the difficulty. Candor, impartiality, and accuracy are the distinguishing features of 
the narrative portion. 

Willard's Universal History. New Edition. 

The most valuable features of the '■ United States " are reproduced in tJiis. The 
peculiarities of the work are its great conciseness and the prominence given to the 
(ihronological order of events. The margin marks each successive era with great dis- 
tinctness, so that the pupil retains not only the event but its time, and thus fixes the 
order of history firmly and usefully in his mind. Mrs. Willaj-d's books are constantly 
revised, and at all times written up to embrace importanb historical events of recent 
date. Professor Arthur Gilma,n has edited the last twenty-five years to 1882. 

Lancaster's English History. 

By the Master of the Stoughton Grammar School, Boston. The most practical of the 
"brief books." Though short, it is not, a bare and uninteresting outline, but contains 
enough of explanation and detail to make intelligible the cause and effect of events. 
Their relations to the history and development of the American people is made specially 
prominent. 

Willis's Historical Reader. 

Being Collier's Great Events of History adapted to American schools. This rare 
epitome of general history, rem arkable for its charming style and judicious selection of 
events on which the destinies of nations have turned, has been skilfully manipulated 
by Professor Willis, with as few changes as would bring the United States into its proper 
position in the historical persDcctive. As reader or text-book it has few equals and no 
superior. 

Berard's History of England. 

By an authoress well known for the success of her History of the United States. 
The social life of the English people is felicitously interwoven, as in fact, with the civil 
and military transactions of the realm. 

Ricord's History of Rome. 

Possesses the charm of an attractive romance. The fables with which this history 
abounds are introduced in such a way as not to deceive the inexperienced, while adding 
materially to the value of the work as a reliable index to the character and institutions, 
as well as the history of the Roman people. 



THE NATIONAL SERIES OF STANDARD SCHOOL-BOOKS. 

HISTORY — Continued. 

Hanna's Bible History. 

The only compendium of Bible narrative •which aflfords a connected and chronological 
view of the important events there recorded, divested of all superfluous detail. 

Summary of History; American, French, and English. 

A \rell-proportioned outline of leading events, condensing the substance of the more 
extensive text-books in common use into a series of statements so brief, that eveiy 
word may be committed to memory, and yet so comprehensive that it presents an 
accxirate though general view of the whole continuous life of nations. 

Marsh's Ecclesiastical History. 

Affording the History of the Church in all ages, with accounts of the pagan world 
during the biblical periods, and the character, rise, and progress of all religions, as well 
as the various sects of the worshippers of Christ. The work is entirely non-sectarian, 
though strictly catholic. A separate volume contains carefully prepared questions for 
class use. 

Mill's History of the Ancient Hebrews. 

With valuable Chronological Charts, prepared by Professor Edwards of N. Y. This 
is a succinct account of the chosen people of God to the time of the destruction of 
Jerusalem. Complete in one volume. 

Topical History Chart Book. 

By Miss Ida P. Whitcomb. To be used in connection with any History, Ancient or 
Modern, instead of the ordinary blank book for summary. It embodies the names of 
contemforary riders from the earliest to the present time, with blanks under each, in 
which the pupil may write the summary of the life of the ruler. 

Oilman's First Steps in General History. 

A "suggestive outline" of rare compactness. Each country is treated by itself, and 
the United States receive special attention. Frequent maps, conteniporai-y events in 
tables, references to standard works for fuller details, and a minute Index constitute 
the " Illustrative Apparatus." From no other work that we know of can so succinct a 
view of the world's history be obtained. Considering the necessary limitation of space, 
the style is surprisingly vivid, and at times even ornate. In all respects a charming, 
though not the less practical, text-book. 

Baker's Brief History of Texas. 
Dimitry's History of Louisana. 
Alison's Napoleon First. 

The history of Europe from 1788 to 1815. By Archibald Alison. Abridged by Edward 
8. Gould. One vol., 8vo, with appendix, questions, and maps. 550 pages. 

Lord's Points of History. 

The salient points in the history of the world arranged catechetically for class use or 
for review and examination of teacher or pupil. By John Lord, LL.D. 12mo, 300 

Images. 

Carrington's Battle Maps and Charts of the American 
Revolution. 

Topographical Maps and Chronological Charts of every battle, with 3 steel portraits 
of Washington. 8vo, cloth. 

Condit's History of the English Bible. 

For theological and historical students this book has an intrinsic value. It gives the 
history of all the English translations down to the present time, together with a careful 
review of their influence upon B)iglish literature and language. 

23 



THE NATIONAL SERIES OF STANDARD SCHOOL-BOOKS. 



-^ ' " J!M(gSIlMllFiS®IFILiiai 




^ ith an account of their monuments, 

ature, and manners. 340 pages. 

0. Profusely illustrated. 

In this work the political history, 

which occupies nearly, if not all, 

the ordinary school text, is condensed 

to the salient and essential facts, in 

Older to give room for a clear outline 

ot the literature, religion, architecture, 

( haracter, habits, &c., of each nation. 

Surely it is as important to know 5ome- 

tliuig about Plato as all about Caesar, 

and to learn how the ancients wrote 

then- books as how they fought their 

battles. 

The chapters on Manners and Cus- 
toms and the Scenes in Real Life repre- 
sent the people of history as men and 
women subject to the same wants, hopes 
and fears as ourselves, and so bring the distant past near to us. The Scenes, which are 
intended only for reading, are the result of a careful study of the unequalled collections of 
monuments in the London and Berlin Museums, of the ruins in Rome and Pompeii, and 
of the latest authorities on the domestic life of ancient peoples. Though intentionally 
written in a semi-romantic style, they are accurate pictures of what 7)iiqht have occurred, 
and some of them are simple transcriptions of the details sculptured in Assyrian 
alabaster or painted on Egyptian walls. 



THE NATIONAL SERIES OF STANDARD SCHOOL-BOOKS. 



Yn&IO'RY — Continued. 

The extracts made from the sacred books of the East are not specimens of their style 
and teachings, but only gems selected often from a mass of matter, much of which would 
be absurd, meaningless, and even revolting. It has not seemed best to cumber a book 
like this with selections conveying no moral lesson. 

The numerous cross-references, the abundant dates in parenthesis, the pronunciation 
of the names in the Index, the choice reading references at the close of each general 
subject, and the novel Historical Recreations in the Appendix, will be of service to 
teacher and pupil alike. 

Though designed primarily for a text-book, a large class of persons — general readers, 
who desire to know something about the progress of historic criticism and the recent 
discoveries made among the resurrected monuments of the East, but have no leisure to 
read the ponderous volumes of Brugsch, Layard, Grote, Mommsen, and Ihne — will find 
this volume just what they need. 



From Homer B. Spkague, Head Master 
Girls' High School, West Newton St. , Bos- 
ton, Mass. 
" I beg to recommend in strong terms 

the adoption of Barnes's 'History of 



Ancient Peoples ' as a text-book. It is 
about as nearly perfect as could be 
hoped for. The adoption would give 
great relish to the study of Ancient 
History." 




task. 



impresses the great outlines indelibly upon the memory. 



HE Brief History of France. 

By the author of the " Bri'^f United States," 
with all the attractive features of that jiopu- 
lar work (which see) and new ones of its^own. 

It is believed that the History of France 
has never before been presented in such 
brief compass, and this is effected without 
sacrificing one particle of interest. The book 
reads like a romance, and, while drawing the 
student by an irresistible fascination to his 



THB NATIONAL SERIES OF STANDARD SCHOOL-BOOKS. 

DR. STEELE'S ONE-TERM SERIES, 
IN ALL THE SCIENCES. 

Steele's 14-Weeks Course in Chemistry. 
Steele's 14-Weeks Course in Astronomy. 
Steele's 14-Weeks Course in Physics. 
Steele's 14-Weeks Course in Geology. 
Steele's 14-Weeks Course in Physiology. 
Steele's 14-Weeks Course in Zoology. 
Steele's 14-Weeks Course in Botany. 

Our text-books in these studies are, as a general thing, dull and uninteresting. 
They contain from 400 to 600 pages of dry facts and unconnected details. They abound 
in that which the student cannot learn, much less remember. The pupil commences 
the study, is confused by tlie fine print and coarse print, and neither knowing exactly 
what to learn nor what to hasten over, is crowded through the single term generally 
assigned to each branch, and frequently comes to the close without a definite and exact 
idea of a single scientific princix)le. 

Steele's " Fourteen- Weeks Courses " contain only that which every well-informed per- 
son should know, while all that which concerns only 'the professional scientist is omitted. 
The language is clear, simple, and interesting, and the illustrations bring the subject 
within the range of home life and daily experience. They give such of the general 
principles and the prominent facts as a pupil can make familiar as household words 
within a single term. The type is large and open ; there is no fine print to annoy ; 
the cuts are copies of genuine experiments or natural phenomena, and are of fine 
execution. 

In fine, by a system of condensation peculiarly his own, the author reduces each 
branch to tlie limits of a sm^]e term of study, while sacrificing nothing that is essential, 
and nothing that is usually retained from tlie study of the larger manuals in common 
use. Thus the student has rare opportunity to economize his time, or rather to employ 
that which he has to the best advantage. 

A notable feature is the author's charming "style," fortified by an enthusiasm over 
his subject in which the student will not fail to partake. Believing that Natural 
Science is full of fascination, he has moulded it into a form that attracts the attention 
and kindles the enthusiasm of the pupil. 

The recent editions contain the author's " Practical Questions " on a plan never 
before attempted in scientific text-books. These are questions as to the nature and 
cause of common phenomena, and are not directly answered in the text, the design 
being to test and promote an intelligent use of the student's knowledge of the foregoing 
principles. 

Steele's Key to all His Works. 

This work is mainly composed of answers to tlie Practical Questions, and solutions of the 
problems, in the author's celebi-ated " Fourteen-Weeks Courses " in the several sciences, 
withmanyhints to teachers, minortables, &c. Should be on every teacher's desk. 

Prof. J. Dorman Steele is an indefatigable student, as well as author, and his books 
have reached a fabulous circulation. It is safe to say of his books that they have 
accomplished more tangible and better results in the class-room than any other ever 
offiered to American schools, and have been translated into more languages for foreign 
schools. They are even produced in raised type for the blind. 

32 



THE NATIONAL SERIES OF STANDARD SCHOOL-EOOKS. 








LITERATURE. 

Gilman's First Steps in English Literature. 

The character and plan of this exquisite little text-book may be best understood from 
an analysis of its contents : Introduction. Historical Period of Immature English, 
with Chart ; Definition of Terms ; Languages of Europe, with Chart ; Period of Mature 
English, with Chart ; a Chart of Bible Translations, a Bibliography or Guide to General 
Reading, and other aids to the student. 

Cleveland's Compendiums. 3 vols. 12mo. 

English Literature. Asierican Literature. 

English Literature of the XIXth CEiS'TURY. 

In these volumes are gatliered the cream of the literature of the Englisl^-spcaking 
people for the school-room and the general reader. Their reputation is national. More 
than 125,000 copies have been sold. 

Boyd's English Classics. 6 vols. Cloth. 12mo. 
Milton's Paradise Lost. Thomson's Seasons. 

Young's Night Thoughts. Pollok's Course of Time. 

Cowper's Task, Table Talk, &c. Lord Bacon's Essays. 

This series of annotated editions of great English writers in prt.ise and poetry is 
designed for critical reading and parsing in schools. Prof. J. R, Boyd proves himself 
an editor of high capacity, and the works themselves need no encomium. As auxiliary 
to the study of belles-lettres, &c., these works have no equal. 

Pope's Essay on Man. 16mo. Paper. 
Pope's Homer's Iliad. 32mo. Roan. 

The metrical translation of tlie great jioet of antiquity, and the matchless "Essay on 
the Nature and State of Man," by Alexander Pope, afford superior exercise in literature 
and parsing. 

POLITICAL ECONOMY. 

Champlin's Lessons on Political Economy. 

An improvement on previous treatises, being shorter, yet containing everything 
essential, with a view of recent questions in finance, &c., which is not elsewhere 
found. 

39 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

021 933 819 3 





'. ^ 1 




